Democrats - We Can't Party Like It's 1996

Democrats - We Can't Party Like It's 1996

The Republican Congressional embrace of House Finance Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Dist. 1 Wis.) plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program has certainly been good political news for Democrats, but it is premature to party like its 1996 – when attacking proposed Republican Medicare cuts provided rocket fuel for President Clinton’s re-election campaign.

In 1996, the economy was strong and we were making substantial progress in reducing the deficit. Today, we are mired in severe debt and deficit problems that are likely to continue to drive the political conversation here and on the national level. As a result credibility on fiscal responsibility will be essential to electoral success.

Debt problems -- including our nation’s $14 trillion and growing national debt and Rhode Island’s nearly $10 billion in unfunded pension liabilities -- provide plentiful news hooks, ensuring continued saturation-level media coverage. The ongoing fight over the national debt ceiling is a case in point. It offers the kind of political theatre that attracts television cameras, lands on front pages and fuels web clicks. Closer to home, Moody’s recent downgrade of the outlook for Rhode Island bonds is only the latest in a series of well-publicized and disturbing developments on the fiscal front.

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Even if the recent up-tick in unemployment continues, reducing our debt is likely to remain a highly salient issue. National exit polling shows that nearly 40% of voters in the 2010 mid-term elections chose reducing the deficit as the highest priority for the next Congress – even though at the time of that election, unemployment was at 10%, nearly a percentage point higher than it is today. Reducing the debt is of particular importance to independents who are key swing voters in nearly every election.

Perhaps most important, a credible plan to lower the national debt or address rising state pension costs will create room in the political conversation to build support for addressing the other key challenges needed to “win the future.” Improving education to help us better compete; fostering innovation; modernizing our infrastructure; and developing alternative energy sources can gain the attention needed to build public support and will be more compelling to voters if coupled with policies and proposals perceived as fiscally sound.

Such moves will even make the Republican embrace of the Ryan plan more problematic, because voters will see that there really is a better way than gutting Medicare to address our long-term structural and serious fiscal problems.

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Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.