David Broder. The man is an icon. He’s becoming a new kind of icon. An icon representing all that is wrong with the culture inside the Beltway. David Broder surveys the current political and cultural landscape within the country and pronounces that it is THE PEOPLE that are out of touch. Let’s take a look.
The belief that official Washington is deaf to the people’s wishes is a staple of political rhetoric for both Republicans and Democrats — even those, including [Fred] Thompson, who have operated inside the Beltway for decades.
Let a reporter who is not running for anything suggest that exactly the opposite may be true: A particularly virulent strain of populism has made official Washington altogether too responsive to public opinion.
Now David Broder is very predictable and he chooses a predictable path in this column. First he blames right-wing talk radio hosts and fire-breathing conservatives for misleading THE PEOPLE into opposing the immigration bill. Then he blames ‘labor and liberal groups’ for misleading THE PEOPLE into opposing fast-track trade authority for the President. See? It’s a pox on both parties’ houses.
Broder evokes the anti-populist wisdom of Edmund Burke and Aristotle to inform us:
In today’s Washington, a badly weakened president and a dangerously compliant congressional leadership are no match for the power of public opinion — magnified and sometimes exaggerated by modern communications and interest group pressure.
Broder doesn’t mention Iraq in this piece but it’s obvious that Iraq is on his mind. Congress, to Broder, is dangerously compliant. But they aren’t compliant to the executive branch, they are compliant to the wishes of THE PEOPLE that give the executive branch sub-30% approval ratings. Those ratings count for nothing in Broderworld.
The point is pretty basic. Politicians are wise to heed what people want. But they also have an obligation to weigh for themselves what the country needs. In today’s Washington, the “wants” of people count far more heavily than the nation’s needs.
Let’s not bend ourselves in pretzels parsing this. If THE PEOPLE’s wants are not what the nation needs then THE PEOPLE must be wrong.
Now, I’m the first to admit that THE PEOPLE are not always right about what is best for them. Sometimes THE PEOPLE want to maintain slavery or segregation. Just because THE PEOPLE have a majority opinion on some issue doesn’t make them right. That is why we have all these protections for minority opinions. But you have to be a blithering idiot to be able to look at the current landscape in America and think it is THE PEOPLE that are out of touch right now and not the denizens of the Beltway.
THE PEOPLE want an end to this administration and its war. They are well enough convinced that this government is not healthy and not serving their interests. It is the Beltway types that don’t want to face up to consequences of their profound failures. THE PEOPLE can see the budget numbers, the casualty reports, the failed government services, and the official corruption. They need leadership from the people that can hold this government responsible. If people like Broder keep burying their heads in the sand it won’t be too much longer before we have a return to 1960’s style insurrection.
THE PEOPLE don’t want to riot. They want the system to work. But the system is as broken as Alberto Gonzales’ credibility. And we see the Beltway making excuses for perjury and obstruction of justice and failed wars of choice. This time THE PEOPLE are right. The bums must be thrown out. And Broder will lead the pack with a dunce cap on.
