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McCain's Domestic Policies: As Old As He Is

Even though he's 72, I never really think of John McCain as old, at least until he is forced to discuss domestic policy. It's not entirely his fault. When forced to make a nod to less manly subjects such as health care and education and other items not related to the war or foreign policy, his entire party's domestic policy offerings have changed little since Newt Gingrich was king of the Capitol. Case in point: Last night, McCain said he opposed Obama's "health-care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor."

It's the same argument Republicans used in 1994 to kill off the Clinton health plan. But much has changed since the debut of Harry and Louise 14 years ago, and the recycled line seems hugely out of touch with reality. This past year, my family has been forced to switch health plans three times, and every one of these plans has not only a different set of rules, gatekeepers, and attendant paperwork, but also of approved doctors. How long can Republicans continue to insist that a government-sponsored plan would be worse than this? Government doesn't have a monopoly on bureaucracy. Some of my health care plans make the Post Office look efficient.

Likewise, the candidate's embrace of school choice, a vintage issue raised in virtually every GOP convention speech, is somewhat baffling. We here in the District have been the guinea pigs for Republican school choice policy for years now. In 1996, a Republican Congress forced the District to fund an explosion of charter schools to create more "competition," the idea being that innovative new charters would force the rest of the public schools to improve and innovate to retain students, as if schools were just like Best Buy and Circuit City fighting for market share.

Today, District parents have more choices—bad ones. Most of the city's charter schools are as bad or worse than the regular public schools. Less than 30 percent have met the required benchmarks for progress under the No Child Left Behind law, another empty school choice vehicle. That law gives kids in failing schools the right to go elsewhere. In the District, virtually every public high school is failing, so as with most places, District parents are mostly stuck with their neighborhood schools because there is nowhere else to go. No surprise then, that in a system with more than 50,000 students, only 34 kids from designated failing schools applied to transfer somewhere else.

School choice is not a public policy but a luxury, one reserved for rich people, who can agonize between private or parochial, Reggio or Montessori, just like bureaucrat-free health care these days is the province of the wealthy and lifetime members of U.S. Senate. If McCain the Maverick really wants to start a new Republican revolution, he's first going to have to slough off the failed remnants of the last one.

Comments

Stephanie, in your statement, "Some of my health care plans make the Post Office look efficient," you fell into the conservative meme that keeps post office privatization alive and government programs impossible. The post office gets your letters from any part of the country to any other part in just two or three days. That's inefficient? And we have the world's cheapest postal rates.

Posted by: Eric Ferguson on 09/05/08 at 1:05 PM Respond

Did anyone else catch that McSame's speech was blasting Bush and the GOP more than Obama. Strange.

Posted by: Mor-a-Les on 09/05/08 at 1:14 PM Respond

OBAMA'S ECONOMICS ARE DANGEROUS !!!
Unemployment at 6.1% simply reinforces McCain's argument that if you raise taxes on businesses, they will have to cut back their work force in order to keep their doors open. In the short run, Obama's desire to raise taxes on businesses, and give the money to struggling Americans sounds good ... but, it panders to people's desire for hand outs and immediate gratification ... for, in the long run, this kind of bad judgement is like eating the goose that lays the golden eggs ... or, like eating your seed crop, instead of using the seeds to grow more crops. Raising the taxes on businesses is the best way to dramatically increase unemployment in America.

Posted by: Howard on 09/05/08 at 1:42 PM Respond

Did anyone else catch that McSame's speech was blasting Bush and the GOP more than Obama.

Not around here they wouldn't catch it.

It would become harder to make the argument McCain=Bush if they had to acknowledge that McCain has been in any way critical of Bush & his Neocon Pals.

Posted by: Are You Kidding? on 09/05/08 at 2:38 PM Respond

Howard, you are making no sense. Did you learn economics from McCain?

How do you make the case that the higher unemployment is caused by higher taxes when the taxes hasn't been raised.

The main reason people are being laid off is because the companies cannot sell enough and therefore no longer need as many employees.

Posted by: Scandinavian Liberal on 09/05/08 at 4:09 PM Respond

Howard,
Actually, there was an in-depth piece posted in the Times recently about Obama's economic policy that outlined his plan to reverse the tax cuts Bush granted the super-rich and also reduce wage taxes-- separate from income tax--and which has never been reduced during most workers' careers. An attempt to see an economic gain among the middle class and buoy a sinking economy is not a "hand-out," it's just good sense.

Posted by: Marie on 09/05/08 at 8:38 PM Respond

not to mention, howard, if the economy is weak, businesses aren't going to spend money anyway. they're going to postpone hiring and expenditures until the economy tells them it's safe to invest. you could provide tax incentives for hiring and investing, but rewarding them with tax subsidies they aren't going to spend when or how originally intended isn't much of a solution as it's a lame gop talking point.

Posted by: nmc on 09/06/08 at 8:59 PM Respond

Are you kidding:

Of course McBush is trying to act like he has separated from George, but it is impossible, he loves Bush and has stated numerous times that Bush has done a good job. McBush is McSame. McBush only wants the people to buy the service agreement, and everybody knows that service agreements are a waste of money.

Posted by: MarthaA on 09/07/08 at 2:32 PM Respond