BloggeRhythms

The always consistent Peggy Noonan proved once again @wsj.com yesterday that those on the left truly exist in an alternative universe. She also justified an Albert Einstein premise in another context. Although when he said "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts," he was being critical of bad science, his rationale certainly applies to journalism in  Ms Noonan’s case. 

The theme of Ms Noonan's treatise was that all that the new POTUS and his party want to do is cut spending, referring to examples such as CPB, NPR, NEA cutbacks. Setting her premise point she then asks: “Why aren’t we talking about growing and building and knocking down barriers? Why aren’t we talking about jobs and a boom and reforming regulation and taxes so people can build and invest?
 
“All these old arguments—we have to have them now? Why? Because it’s important for a party to prove it doesn’t know what time it is? 

“Really, this week, that’s how it looks to me.” 

Reading her queries, one has to wonder where and how Ms Noonan obtains her input regarding what the POTUS has been doing. Because it seems she’s totally unaware of the current boom in hiring and major businesses recommitting to expanding here at home. 

At the same time, regulations are being cut to the extent that for every new federal regulation implemented, two must be rescinded. The POTUS also added on January 30th, that “it goes far beyond that. We’re cutting regulations massively for small business — and for large business,” he said. “But they're different. But for small business, and that’s what this is about today.” 

While the POTUS's actions confirm that Ms Noonan’s totally unaware of his policies and actions to date, she went on to write:”I am among those who think it absurd that Republicans on Capitol Hill decided to throw their initial attention on a hopelessly complex and convoluted health-care bill, and for procedural reasons so obscure they sound like Stockholm syndrome: “We must pay for the cuts or we blow up in reconciliation.” How can you expect people to follow you when they can’t even understand the marching orders, or why they should take the hill? And focusing on the replacement only highlighted party fissures.” 

And then in the very same article she went on: “Here is the tradition. If you are Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 and you want to create Social Security—an act that affects Americans very personally—you get the other party in on it. You need them co-owning it, invested in it. You want the American people saying, “Congress did this,” not “the Democrats did this,” because if they say the latter the reform will always divide. FDR got 81 Republicans to vote for it in the House, and 284 Democrats. The same with Medicare in 1965: Lyndon Johnson did all he could to get the GOP on board. A majority of House Republicans supported it.” 

After which in a truly astounding continuation she wrote: “Barack Obama, full of himself after his 2008 victory and surrounded by triumphalist House Democrats, ignored the teaching of history and passed ObamaCare without a single Republican vote. The Democrats would get all the credit. In time they got all the blame. Republicans had no incentive to bail them out.” 

So, here we have a political analyst building her case that the new POTUS and his party affiliates are totally wrong in their approach because they aren’t seeking cooperation from their opposition while going on to establish that the problem arose originally because Democrats did precisely the same thing.     

From there, Ms Noonan suggests that by engaging Democrats in health care reformation: “No doubt Democrats would clean up the program along more liberal lines than Republicans, which would please their progressive base. But it would also please many in Mr. Trump’s base.”

“If it worked, Mr. Trump would crow he’s made the first big bipartisan deal in a generation—it’s a new day. It might help on future bipartisan efforts, such as infrastructure spending. And he can make it up to Republicans with conservative regulatory and tax reform.

“It would be no scandal if the president threw in with Democrats and moderate Republicans at the expense of Republican leadership. He’s always been philosophically unreliable, his commitments ever-changeable. Everyone knows this. The American people hired him knowing it. 

“His supporters would forgive a failed attempt to replace ObamaCare along Republican lines. But they wouldn’t forgive a bad bill that succeeds.” 

So, here we have Ms Noonan proposing a way for the new POTUS to gain wider support across party lines, while also gaining additional advantages on future legislative issues.  Which all sounds wonderful were it not for practical realities she seems totally unaware of. Particularly in view of the fact that she’s a highly regarded columnist, supposedly well-informed on the subject matter she discusses continually.    

Yet, in today’s case she seems absolutely unaware of one of the root causes of the unilateral position Republicans have taken on health care reform. However, Democrat leadership’s position regarding the new administration has been made crystal clear by many sources, such as the one from Lindsey McPherson @rollcall.com on February 27. 

At the time Ms McPherson titled her column; “Schumer and Pelosi Prebuttal to Trump: We Disagree” 

“Congress’ top two Democrats on Monday delivered their “prebuttal” to President Donald Trump’s upcoming first address to Congress, outlining reason after reason why Democrats cannot support anything they expect the president to propose.  

Speaking at the National Press Club, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Republicans’ early actions and rhetoric on health care, immigration, budget and taxes are out of step with the Democrats’ priorities and suggested there’s no room for the parties to work together. 

Schumer said: “Trump has moved so far to the right and in such an extreme position, it’s hard to see what we could work with him on,” 

“If he gets away from his hard-right line, … then maybe it’s a possibility, but it sure as heck isn’t now,” he added. 

“Pelosi, too, said she’s yet to see any signs Republicans and Democrats will be able to craft bipartisan policy. 

“Instead of acting on jobs, Republicans will make America sick again, declaring all-out war on affordable health care,” she said, criticizing GOP plans to dismantle the 2010 health care law.”

Thus, whereas the Democrat’s anti-everything Republican mantra is quite well-known, one would expect that one in a position such as Ms Noonan’s would know that. However, she not only ignored reality but went on to quote John Kasich who said in a telephone interview: “Ronald Reagan made deals with Tip O’Neill on Social Security.” All the big reforms of the past—of welfare, of the Pentagon—were bipartisan efforts. Progress will come when both parties end “the civil war” over health care. Bipartisanship must come back if things are to work.” 

Nonetheless, despite the apparent refusal of both Ms Noonan and Kasich to accept the reality of the situation, many others certainly grasp the depth of what Republicans are up against, as reflected quite appropriately by two readers comments.  

Chaz Taylor commented: “Peggy needs a vacation.  The democrat party has made it clear for the last 8+ years -- if you don't agree with us, then we will 'resist, protest, attack, etc' .  See any US campus for live examples of how the current left wing, including the current democrat party, works.” 

Along the same lines, reader Bob Dover opined: “The Fake News Media is being allowed to make the Republican plan, whatever it may be, the issue and problem. The problem was, is and always will be, Obamacare. Not one Republican voted for it. It is a complete disaster. There should be some blame put on the Democrats and they should be paying a heavier price for doing this to America. Unfortunately, the swamp includes big pharma, big insurance and the RINOs. Trump is up against a lot of power and money.” 

So, in this one example, the current health care reformation attempt, evidence of the underlying political problems have become quite visible. And while Democrat party leadership has made their dedicated hostility glaringly obvious, one would think that even a pie-in-the-sky idealist like Ms Noonan would surely know that. However, her ramblings indicate that she surely doesn’t.

That’s it for today folks. 

Adios