Reply #108: Frank Insights

[ramapo]

I found WTMWK entertaining while offering me some insight into what goes on in the midst of our country, far from the life of a metro-ized Blue-stater.

I approached the book with some trepidation as I really don't like to torture myself by reading about the successes of the Conservative movement in the United States. But the author made my journey fairly painless and even enjoyable.

Frank painted a very clear picture of what has gone on in Kansas over the past few decades. I was surprised to learn that the real tipping point was reached in the '90s with the banishment of the moderate Republicans to the fringes of the party. I had really considered the state to be a solid conservative bastion for at least the past 40 years or so. I guess that is true to a degree, but not so much as compared to today when Republicans including former Senators Dole and Kestenbaum would seem refreshingly moderate. I often think that Nixon would be considered somewhat of a "liberal" by today's standards.

The conservatives have enjoyed spectacular success by focusing the public on relatively trivial and controversial issues while pursuing an agenda counter to the economic and long-term well-being of this same public.

I call this the politics of delusion and diversion. Attention is focused on such wedge issues as abortion and religion. The Conservatives need to maintain the anger around culture issues as this is truly their base of power. Despite their control of the government and even much of the media, they are adept at remaining the underdog and railing against the perceived excesses of the "liberals". To lose this focus would likely threaten their staying power as their constituents' attention may wander to more important issues.

Frank also lays blame on the Democrats as being complicit in their own destruction. To this I must agree. Clinton was successful by moving the party to the right but in so doing he made the party all the more difficult to distinguish from the Republicans. Although this is flame-bait, I cheered the words of Ralph Nader in 2000 when he spoke of the two parties being so much one of the same with perhaps only subtle variations in degree.

Democrats did abandon the working class in favor of monied interests. Their excuse being that huge donations are needed to fund their campaign against Republican excesses. But Clinton is responsible for NAFTA, and the Telecomm deregulation, and the weakening of CAFE standards with the embracing of ever larger, less efficient vehicles. He did little for the cities, the environment, and helped make himself into a target of rage that attracted many a blue-collar and middle American.

Forget the election rhetoric and look at what the Democrats have actually done the past four years. They have continued to embrace Republican positions and accommodate their legislation. By no means can it be said that there is a loyal opposition and this failure to differentiate and articulate clear positions has had as much to do with the demise of Democratic power as has the grass-root genius of the Neo-Conservative movement.

As a baby boomer, I find it particularly stunning that my own generation, and those younger than I, have been the ones responsible for transforming the United States from a somewhat forward-looking (progressive would certainly be an overstatement) nation into what it is today. There is a very real disconnect from reality for many in my generation, a lack of maturity in thought and behavior, which is evident throughout our society from the realms of economics to entertainment.

Frank offers no solution as I don't believe that was his aim. He has provided valuable insights into what has effected the transformation of our political culture over the past forty years.

I believe that this tide can be turned only by new leaders who can refocus people on the truly important issues. Barring the emergence of new leadership that can effectively mute the conservative movement, it will be events that change the focus. Sooner or later things will change but for now I see that what the author has described in Kansas to be inexorably eating its' way across the country.