Today I will put my Pipedreams series on hold long enough to comment on the topic of choice these days, -- Senator Bob Dole's decision to quit not only his post of Majority Leader, but his seat in the Senate itself, in order to concentrate more fully on his run for the White House. The last Senator to do this was Henry Clay, and there is no doubt that Dole's decision has stirred America (or at least the news media) profoundly. But was it the right thing to do for Bob Dole or for the country? My answer is most emphatically not.
More than anything these days, the American people as a whole are yearning for a government able to actually get things done, without partisan gridlock, without shouting, without demonizing, without posturing. Look at the number of times politicians have used the phrase 'roll up our sleeves, and get to work' lately and you begin to understand how powerful the appeal is for a government which simply works hard with a minimum of fuss and bother and wrangling to do the people's business, a government striving towards goals which they can convincingly demonstrate will genuinely make a difference in the life of the average person. Whether this means balancing the budget in order to bring down interest rates and bring the dream of owning a home or a business closer to reality for the average Joe or Jill, or reforming health care in this country so that most of us do not live a job or an illness away from bankruptcy, the American people are demanding action, -- this despite the fact that they are deluged constantly with the conventional wisdom that they do not really know what they want, and don't have a clear vision, or don't speak with one clear voice, when it comes to such objectives. Ideologically pointed or not, the fact remains that in most opinion polls the people's voice remains loud and unequivocal on these and many other issues, and the lack of progress in these areas can be laid firmly at the doorstep of those who would presume to lead us, and NOT at the doorstep of those who look for such leadership.
This is in large part why there has been such interest in recent years with third parties and independent politics.It has become more and more apparent that the Republicrats are unable to take care of business, whether we're talking health reform or budget-balancing or political reform. The need for some force to jumpstart the democratic process of governing again, to get things done, to lead the nation forward, has propelled a lot of us, whether formally conservative or liberal, whether leaning Republican or Democratic, to abandon our cherished ideologies, and make common cause with somebody, anybody, who at least appears more interested in making a change in the lives of people than in winning the current rhetorical point.
It is in this context that Ross Perot made so much sense to so many Americans just four short years ago. Here was someone who was willing to talk about precisely those things which were going wrong and which the Republicrats were trying to sweep under the rug. Here was someone willing to talk about a mountain of debt being piled on our children which the Republicrats were simply ignoring. Here was someone willing to talk about a sick democracy, where only about half of the people ever voted because so many believe their vote does not count and makes no difference, that the political process is corrupt and undemocratic, more controlled by special interests than by the voters themselves. Whether it was Ross talking about free TV for all qualified candidates, Republicrat or independent, thus removing one of the major sources of inflation where today's campaigns are concerned, or suggesting we put COLA in a can (i.e. scrap the current cost of living adjustment for entitlements), the fact is that he was talking about things, and making suggestions concerning subjects, which were absolutely taboo with either of the major parties, but which had to be discussed in the open, and made part of the everyday doings in the public marketplace of ideas. It is NOT that all of his ideas were right; far from it. Scrapping COLA, for example, would have been drastic, and probably unfair, particularly to those of lower income. But the fact remains that entitlements are eating us alive, and self-destructing in the process, and this is one of many issues which have to be addressed, and which the current political establishment simply can't bring itself to even touch in an honest way.
Ross Perot went on to betray the hopes of his supporters, of course. He crushed the grassroots structure of his own organization, United We Stand America, in an outrageously autocratic and undemocratic manner, and when the major fight of Clinton's term emerged in 94, that of health care, he refused to play a constructive role. Instead of recognizing that universal coverage was the only way we would ever get the nation's soaring health costs under control, and consequently leading his followers in the direction of one of the politically viable plans which accomplished that goal, such as Chafee-Breaux or Thomas-Johnson, he jumped on the demagogic bandwagon which was denouncing universalism as "big government," and signed on to the Cooper-Bilirakis health reform proposals, -- proposals personally vetted and approved by those very special interests which Perot had so correctly pointed out in the 92 campaign were strangling democracy in this country and which he supposedly was totally dedicated to evicting from the democracy's temple. In short, it became evident that Ross Perot was a hypocrite and a demagogue, and no hero of democracy at all.
But all of the preceding does not alter the fact that the Perot message of 92 is as valid today as it was then. The fact remains that our leaders have still not successfully tamed the deficit and debt demon, that we still live a paycheck or an illness away from bankruptcy, that we still have an apathetic electorate turned off from politics with half usually not even bothering to vote, and a political process still strangled by a fundraising demon that leaves our lawmakers overwhelmingly more beholden to their contributors than their constitutents.
And because so little has changed since 92, the people are just as ready as then to seek an alternative which will ACTUALLY GET THINGS DONE. Surveys continue to show substantial sentiment in favor of an independent or third-party candidacy for President. There may be a lack of consensus as to exactly who that person might be; but there is no lack of consensus as to which are the issues which propel these feelings. Fiscal and political reform top the list in terms of specifics; but equally important, the question of consensus-building, an end to gridlock, concrete accomplishment, are overarching considerations which are ever-present in all these discussions. And Bob Dole should have recognized that.
It is in this context that Bob Dole's decision emerges as the supremely wrongheaded act that it was. And for a while it really looked as if this did not have to be. In fact, Dole himself frequently used the line "I'm a doer, not a talker" in his campaign rhetoric. In other words, he recognized that genuine accomplishment trumped ideological compatibility every time, and his attempt to use the Senate stage to demonstrate his can-do persona was a reasonable and understandable step. The fact that his attempt to demonstrate that can-do persona consisted more of naysaying and obstructionism than of genuine accomplishment is a disgrace; the fact that he did not use his spot on the Senate stage to sheperd to final passage the Chafee-Breaux balanced budget, the Kennedy-Kassebaum health reform bill, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act, is an outrage. And by copping out of an opportunity to really do some good for the nation, Dole has turned his back on a life of service, committment, and sacrifice. It is not only sad; it is craven. By walking away from his country, Dole has conclusively given the lie to his oft-repeated claim; he has, in fact, now become a talker, not a doer. Shame, Bob; shame, shame, shame.
Whether you believe Bob Dole is now AWOL, or the greatest leader to come along for us since George Washington, let me hear from you. You can reach me at