“What a jackass! He’s pompous, arrogant, and hypocritical, and he sucks at day in, day out business.”
So goes one school of thought on Newt Gingrich.
“He’s a genius. His stores of knowledge and insight are near-bottomless, and he’s an outstanding crisis manager.”
So goes the other.
I agree with both.
I believe that Newt is far too damaged to ever win public office again, which is exactly why I think he’s poised to be more valuable to the country at large than he’s ever been before. He is saying some wonderful things right now on the nature of politics and government, and we should listen.
He wrote a great piece on National Review Online today called Can Do, about how broken the government is when it comes to solving problems. Among his points:
- The transcontinental railroad was completed in six years. Today, it takes twenty-three years to add a runway to the Atlanta airport.
- Chicago, San Francisco, and Galveston were rapidly rebuilt largely with private money after turn of the century disasters devastated the cities. Today, much of New Orleans looks not altogether different than it did immediately after the flood waters receded despite billions of taxpayer dollars spent.
- The 1.1. mile Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in Zion National Park was completed in less than three years. The so-called “Big Dig” in Boston took so long that soon after it was completed, it already needed repairs.
These are not failures of Republicans or Democrats, ladies and gentlemen. They are failures of bureaucracy. They are failures of entitlement creep. They are failures of a culture of helplessness. It makes no difference what team is in the White House or the Capitol. We’ve got to shake off this all-too-pervasive notion that only government is capable enough to solve our problems, because frankly, that statement is usually 180 out.
Do you know what I want from the government? I want only that which the government is demonstrably better than the private sector at providing. Do you know what’s on that list, in my view? National defense, rights protection, and nearly nothing else. If the government sucks at something, they ought not do it. If the government has no authority in the Constitution to do something, they ought not do it. Both of these lists are depressingly long.
I remember discussing/debating government’s proper role with my friend Russ in high school. He said “well, what do you want from the government then?” I replied “Interstates and missiles.”
Newt needs a substantial audience for what he’s saying, because it’s critically important. I am ready for him to end the ridiculous speculation that he’s going to run for president, and make an unambiguous statement along the lines of “Hey, I’m not speaking to you as a Republican or a conservative. I’m speaking to you as a concerned American.”
We have regulated and politicked ourselves into near-total paralysis on too many things that ought to be well within the capabilities of the greatest nation the world has ever known. Think before you say “there oughta be a law!” Think really hard before taking seriously someone who wants to win your vote by promising to grow the government. Ask yourself “to what end?”
The answer is generally that there is no end, and oh by the way, this critical government service without which all of us would surely perish, mediocre though it is, is going to cost a little more this year than it did last year.
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The next big headache is going to be universal health. If I hear one more person say, “But the French have the best system in the world AND IT’S FREE!” (because they watched SICKO), I’m going to have to put some germs on them. Infect them with some common sense.
I’m afraid that battle’s all but lost. With my keen political insight, I have Hillary’s chance of capturing the White House next year at about 65%, and if she wins, we’re getting it.
What too many people don’t (or won’t) realize is that right now, we’ve got an ideal amount of government intervention in the health care system to make a mess of it. There’s jeeeeeeeees’ enough to fuck it all up. Market forces are minimized as a driver. The far left has done a great job of demonizing the profit motive in health care to the point that most people just want it removed, because whatever the effects of said removal, it will be better than the shitstorm we have now. Sigh.
Michael Moore is a talented filmmaker, and his films have much to offer to the critical student of communication. However, someone who sees a Moore film and genuinely believes s/he is supplementing his/her objective knowledge of current events by doing so may already be beyond help.
It’s not that I think we have a great health system. I think for the old and poor it really sucks and way out of line on pricing. Have you ever paid attention to what things cost relative to what your insurance “negotiated” for you? It’s crazy! It’s just that I don’t see putting a bunch of politico’s (of ANY party) at the helm as being beneficial. For it to work, they would have to be ethical… and they aren’t… not one damn one of them.
Reminds of that marvelous bumper sticker:
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it’s free!
“Interstates and missiles.”
Yes, indeed.
I think that the “entitlement creep” that you mention goes beyond just the consitutency – the old adage that one can’t turn an aircraft carrier on a dime has been the excuse for business as usual in American government for a long, long time. People get voted into office (sometimes) on grand ideas and promises of change, only to end up as cogs in the machine once they actually put their names on the brass plates on the door because they’re too afraid of pissing someone off and losing their job.
Personally, I’d be willing to vote for a candidate with a tough-love approach. Damn the lobbyist torpedoes, damn the special interest groups, damn the cronism. I want a candidate who will kick ass and take down names, but I know better than to think that anyone with that much credibility would last a day.