Outsider in the White House (17 page)

The last couple of weeks in Congress have been particularly depressing and ugly. After all the fine-sounding intellectual rhetoric about “philosophy” and “contracts,” after all the books, conferences, and position papers by Republican think tanks, the Gingrich political strategy that we see on the floor of the House as we head into the election comes down to gay bashing, immigrant bashing, racism, sexism, and attacks on the poor.

Nothing new here. A slight variation on very old themes. The same garbage that the right wing always rolls out. If you have no rational analysis of the causation of social problems, if you represent the rich and powerful and
can't
address the needs of ordinary people, then the surefire route to political success is to manipulate people's fear and ignorance, to play off one group against another—to
scapegoat
.

For a hundred years, the white workers of the South were the most exploited white workers in America. They were paid the lowest wages, they endured the worst working conditions, their housing was abysmal, their kids went to the most backward schools, and very few could send their children to college. But what
did
they have? They were given “niggers” to hate and look down on, “niggers” who couldn't vote, drink at their water fountains, use the same bathrooms, or sit up front in the buses or movie theaters.

The political, economic, social, and educational systems of the South enforced those divisions and continually fed the antagonisms. Above all things, white workers were encouraged to despise, and protect themselves from, their black neighbors, or face losing what little they had. The rich folks in the South—the bankers, the manufacturers, the cottonfield owners—laughed all the way to the bank.

During that period, some of the bravest people in the history of America risked their lives fighting the system that perpetuated racism. In illegal meetings throughout the South (it was against the law for blacks and whites to sit in a room together), these political activists and union organizers brought black and white workers together to fight for justice. They did this not only because they believed in civil rights and equal opportunity but also because they understood that real economic and political transformation would never be achieved as long as whites and blacks were busy fighting each other—rather than their common oppressors.

Some things never change. Some struggles never end.

Today, the Republicans understand that tax breaks for the rich, cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, and environmental protection, and support of NAFTA, GATT, and other disastrous trade policies are not exactly a winning ticket.

Of course, it
is
the agenda of rich folks and corporate leaders, and what the Republicans are paid to deliver. But there are only so many millionaire voters, and Republicans know that this agenda is not going to win points among middle-class and working people—the people who determine the outcome of elections. Slashing Medicaid and allowing corporations to pollute our drinking water are not the kind of achievements that can be celebrated in thirty-second campaign ads for all the world to see.

Given that their real ideology—not the sham philosophy of “states' rights” or “personal responsibility” created for public consumption—reflects the interests of a tiny and very privileged segment of the population, Republicans are faced with the same dilemmas that vexed the ruling elites of the South: How to convince working people and the middle class to vote
against
their own best interests. Or, equally important, how to get them not to vote at all. Further, how to deflect attention
away
from the issues that affect the vast majority of people and around which they could
unite
.

Sound strange? It may to you, but I see it every day of the week. That's what the politics of scapegoating and “wedge issues” is all about. White against black and Hispanic. Straight against gay. Working class against the poor and welfare recipients. Men against women. Native born against immigrant. People on the outside against jail inmates. On and on it goes.

The Republicans of 1996, who undertake massive polling, understand very well the legitimate fears and anxieties that millions of Americans feel. And they are prepared to spend huge sums of money to exploit those anxieties, to divide working people and set them at each other's throats, to blind working people to the fact that instead of justice they are getting scraps from the rich man's table.

Most importantly, the Republican strategy is designed to keep working people from looking at the
real
causes of their problems, from examining who owns and controls the system and who benefits from current policies, and from seriously considering how the current political and economic structure can be changed. The Republicans pit people with little power against those with no power. Meanwhile, scarcely anyone looks at who's pulling the strings.

For the last twenty years, the average American has been working longer hours for lower wages. As real wages have dropped by 16 percent, millions of workers are now stressed out because they are working 160 hours a year more than they did just two decades ago.

And millions of Americans say, “When will it end? How hard do I have to work to pay the bills? Saturdays, Sundays, overtime? Two jobs? Three jobs? Surely I'm entitled to some vacation time. Surely I'm entitled to some fun—to see a movie, to hunt, fish, read, enjoy my children.”

All over this country, women who would prefer to stay home with their children have been forced into the workplace because families now need two paychecks in order to survive. Millions of single people are fighting desperately to support themselves and to raise families alone.

And throughout the country Americans are wondering, “Am I a good parent? How can I plan for a family when my job will not allow me to take a leave? Has my boss ever had to get up ten times a night and feed a baby? Haven't his kids ever been sick? How do I get decent and affordable child care? Why was it that my father alone was able to bring home enough money to support the family?”

Most of the new jobs that are being created are low-wage jobs, paying $5.00 or $6.00 an hour. Many of these jobs are part-time or temporary. Parents know that if their kids are going to become self-sufficient, they will need a college degree, but they also know that there is little chance they can afford to pay for college fees out of wage rates that are so low.

And millions of Americans say, “But how do we send the kids to college when it costs $15,000 or $20,000 a year and we only earn $25,000? How do we save money for education when we can barely pay the mortgage or the interest on the credit card? No. We can't go $50,000 into debt. What are we supposed to do?”

More and more Americans have no health insurance or are underinsured.
Medical debt is the primary cause of personal bankruptcy in this country
. Despite Medicare, a large number of senior citizens are unable to afford the prescription drugs that they need.

And millions of Americans are asking, “Who can afford $5,000 a year for adequate health coverage? Who can go to the doctor when the deductible is so high? Three thousand dollars a day in the hospital, when you're making $20,000 a year. It might as well be a million bucks a day. Let's hope no one in the family gets sick this year.”

For the self-employed, small business person, payroll taxes are often higher than income taxes. And then there are property taxes for schools and municipal government, and state taxes. Taxes. Taxes. Taxes.

And millions of American's say, “Doesn't anyone understand? I can't afford to pay more taxes. I can barely survive on what I earn today. Why doesn't the government stop spending so much of my money? Why do these politicians always want more and more from me in taxes?”

Every night on television, we see reports of horrible crimes. Murder, rape, assault, robbery. Some of them are so utterly senseless. Drive-by shootings, kids killing each other for a pair of sneakers, parents doing unspeakable things to their own children.

And millions of Americans demand an explanation. “I obey the law. I play by the rules. Why do I have to live in fear when I walk down the street? Why can't my kid be safe when she goes to school? Why is it costing me a fortune in taxes to pay for extra police or to send these people to jail? Why can't they get a job, and be decent citizens? And why does the government want to take away my guns at the very moment when I most need them to defend and protect my family?”

In summary, many Americans are thinking: “This world is changing very fast. I am confused, I am frustrated, and I am
angry
—and I'm frightened about the future.”

Well, relax. Newt Gingrich, his pollsters, and his colleagues hear you. And they are prepared to
act
—boldly, forcefully, and swiftly on the floor of the House.

No, there will be no rational discussion in Congress of the
cause
of your problems and concerns. There will be no serious debate as to why the middle class has collapsed, why the gap between the rich and the poor has grown and is now wider than in any other industrialized country, why two-thirds of the increase in family wealth goes to the richest one percent, or why that same one percent now own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

There will be no serious debate as to why the United States has gone from first in the world in terms of wages and benefits to thirteenth, why CEOs of large corporations now make almost 200 times what their workers earn, or why we now lag behind every major industrialized country on earth in the amount of paid vacation time and parental leave our workers receive.

Nor will there be any serious discussion as to why we have record-breaking trade deficits, why our industrial base has suffered a major decline, and why the United States has lost millions of decent-paying jobs as profitable corporations close down plants here and move to countries where they pay their employees twenty or thirty cents an hour.

There will be no serious debate about tax policy that has significantly lowered taxes for the rich and large corporations, and raised taxes for the middle class, or why company after company threatens states and local communities with job loss if they don't get tax breaks, which result in higher local taxes for individuals and homeowners.

There will be no serious debate as to why the United States continues to have the most expensive and wasteful health care system in the world, and is the only major nation on earth that does not guarantee health care as a right of citizenship.

There will be no serious debate as to why the United States now has, by far, the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world, and how that poverty is translated into the highest per capita rate of incarceration of any major nation; or why two-thirds of the inmates in jail are functionally illiterate, or why more people are shot to death in two days in this country than in a year in Japan.

No. These and similar issues will not be discussed by Gingrich and his colleagues. If they were, they might bring people
together
to find solutions that would benefit the vast majority of Americans. Imagine. Black and white, Hispanic and Asian, straight and gay, middle class and low income, native and immigrant coming together to create an economy that worked well for the majority, not just the rich; a health care system that guaranteed health care for all, not huge profits for insurance and pharmaceutical companies; federal funding for education, not B-2 bombers; a tax system that favored workers, not the wealthy and multinational corporations. People coming together for the common good. Newt Gingrich's nightmare.

No. Gingrich, his colleagues and corporate sponsors can't discuss or resolve the real problems facing the average American, but they can certainly deflect attention from them. They can pass legislation that will make some of us feel better, by making others feel worse. They can divide the middle class from the poor, and all of us by race, gender, national origin, and sexual orientation. They can beat the hell out of the weak and the powerless. It's a mean, ugly kind of politics. But it's a kind of politics that wins elections.

And I see the fallout in Vermont. At a town meeting in Addison County, a woman says, “Bernie, I'm working hard and I can't afford health insurance. Why is it that my kids don't have health care, but the children of welfare recipients do? It's not right. What are you going to do about it?”

And I reply that I'm going to fight so that everyone in this country has quality health care through a national health insurance program. And she says, “No. I'm not asking you to provide health insurance for my family. I just want you to take it away from those welfare people.”

Similarly, at a festival in Orleans County, a woman says, “I work at a grocery store. I'm disgusted. I see these people with food stamps come in and buy steak and better food than I can afford. Do something about it.”

I hear comments like this all over the state.

As Congress winds down and prepares for the November 1996 elections, the Republican leadership introduces wedge-issue legislation, bills designed to divide the American people against each other, and so win votes for the Republicans.

On July 12, 1996, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act is brought to the floor of the House. It's a “good” issue for the Republicans. Gays constitute a small percentage of the population, and most of them do not vote Republican. Tapping into homophobia and the sexual insecurity of Americans is an effective, time-tested, vote-getting strategy.

In the early days of the Clinton administration, there was a very divisive discussion about gays in the military. While tens of thousands of gay men and women have served this country with honor and dignity and many have died defending it, President Clinton's attempt to bring the issue out into the open—and acknowledge what already existed—created an uproar. The Republicans, as well as conservative Democrats like Senator Sam Nunn, had “done well” by exploiting the issue, and Clinton suffered a serious political setback. If gay bashing worked well in the past, why not revive it?