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Back to School: A little bit of political math…
By sage of monticello | August 12, 2007
Californians want universal health care…and therefore we must give it to them.
From the AP:
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Assembly Republican Leader Michael Villines made their vows to hundreds of people attending an eight-city, satellite-linked meeting focused on covering the state’s 6.5 million uninsured.
Schwarzenegger, a former action film star, has made health care for all Californians a priority and has been publicly battering fellow Republicans in the state Senate, whom he also blames for the six-week budget delay.
John Edwards is right, there are “two Americas.” In one America, the ideal America, the ordering of political questions would be, first - “is it good philosophy?”; second - “is it effective policy that doesn’t contradict the pre-determined correct philosophy?”; and third - “is the policy good strategy?”
In the ideal America, essentially, you would first ask is this good for our country’s politics, followed by is this good (and fair) for all citizens, and the last question should always be is this good for me and/or my party.
But in the other America the questions are asked in inverse order, if asked at all. Proving one can work out the political calculus requiste to politically capitalize on poll results should not automatically mean a policy should be adopted simply because a poll favors doing so. This is a Republic, we send people to places to represent us, not to go there then call us on the phone as ask us what we think.
The founders envisioned a system where elected officials would not be beholden too greatly to the public out of fear of what we see in politics today: policy by polls.
However, there is a fine line between being responsive to the people as opposed to standing on principle, but all questions should be asked when determing where that line falls. That is what should be universal, not health care.
And that’s what I don’t understand about some polticians, like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They know how the system was intended to work but they instead choose to read a poll and have it answer all three questions in one because there is electoral power in doing that - argument by mass and tyranny of the majority are powerful political concepts.
However, the simple fact remaings that polling does not equal correct philosophy; and polling does not equal efficient and effective policy. What polling, minus philosophy and efficiency, does equal is political expendiency.
So, when heading back to school remember that a correct political equation runs something like this:
Philosophy + Effectiveness + Strategy = Good policy.
You lose one, you lose ‘em all.
Topics: conservativism, politcal dialogue, political philosophy, Gov. Arnold |
