It’s Hoover Time

U.S. Republicans

The Republican revolt against the rescue of the automobile industry is part of a well-calculated strategy. With this move, however, the Grand Old Party risks a fall backwards into the ignorance of Herbert Hoover.

The appeal to the traditional stereotypes of the opposition ranks among the most convenient types of political debate. The use of tried and true slogans replaces the presentation of original ideas.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate were thinking this way last Friday night when they defeated a motion for federal aid for the automobile industry. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell warned “a government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take everything we have.”

This quote, in one form or another, has been attributed to many others. This particular version originated from Gerald Ford, the much trivialized short-term president. The real irony is that quotes like this are embellished on the bumper stickers of countless American-made pickup trucks from Virginia to Texas.

The Republican revolt against both the rescue of the automobile industry and the policy of President George W. Bush is, however, far from just an ideological reflex and much more than a spontaneous eruption of insubordination within the party. It is part of a strategy, well-calculated but very risky.

The Republicans are standing with their backs to the wall. In November, they suffered a disastrous defeat. They lost the White House and were decimated to such an extent in Congress that they will practically be on the endangered species list starting in January. Party strategists have looked at the reasons for this situation and have concluded that the Republicans have lost their identity.

John McCain’s campaign lacked a message and the Republican party lacked a philosophy. The principles of the Grand Old Party, whose trademarks since Ronald Reagan’s time have been small government, love of freedom, and the free market, were betrayed during George W. Bush’s presidency. The party supported a policy which sacrificed civil rights and liberties on the altar of the War on Terror. That policy also glorified a strong federal government and made sure that the oil and arms industries got their billion-dollar contracts.

The Republicans want to make an example of the automobile companies. Their message is clear: “Look, we’re the party of free-market competition again. Bloated government is our enemy. We’re bracing ourselves against the Democrats and their plans for big government.”

The Republicans used their last real opportunity to make their voices heard. The new Congress will convene in just a few weeks, a Congress in which they are threatened with insignificance. The party will try to sharpen its image as long as it still has a political platform. When Senate seats are up for election once again in 2010, they hope to break the the Democrats’ hold on the Senate by following a course of strict opposition.

The strategy may sound promising, especially to Republican ears. But the question is whether the denial of taxpayer assistance to the automobile industry will live up to a return to the ideals of Ronald Reagan or will instead signify a return to the ignorance of Herbert Hoover.

Reagan is considered to be a hero of the party; Hoover, a curse. Reagan created the Republicans’ cultural predominance in the past few decades. Hoover ushered in their decline until well after the end of the Second World War. Reagan tamed inflation, cut taxes, and led the country back onto a path to growth. Hoover, on the other hand, burned himself into the collective national memory as the “Depression President.” He stumbled, maneuvered, and plunged the country into economic ruin at the beginning of the 1930’s.

Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly already warned his Republican friends about this behind closed doors, saying “it’s Herbert Hoover time” if they allow the automakers’ bailout to fail.

In the meantime, polls show that America is beginning to believe that the current crisis was not caused by too much government insight, but rather by too little.

Republican senators are looking at other polls. Opinion researchers have found that the majority of voters are burned out with “bailout fatigue.” They are tired of hearing about bailouts.

The Republicans are trying to make political capital out of all of this. By doing so, they risk becoming a regional party, with support coming only from the Southern states. Ten Republican Senators sided with the Democrats on Friday night during the vote for an automobile industry rescue, most of them from the Midwest. If the automobile companies really do go bankrupt, the unemployment rates there could rise to over 20 percent. Cheney could be proven correct when he said “it’s Hoover time.”