The Pros Lose to the Cons
CONTINETTI, MATTHEW
The Pros Lose to the Cons Lou Dobbs replaces Milton Friedman as the face of economic conservatism. BY MATTHEW CONTINETTI Remember the good old days, when the world economy hummed along and...
...But this was too much for plenty of House Republicans...
...During the last quarter century the GOP has been, more often than not, the party arguing for open markets at home and abroad protected by a powerful and assertive America...
...America’s remarkable economic performance over the last 25 years has attracted millions of immigrants...
...Matthew Continetti is the associate editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...They were ready to jettison the fi nancial superstructure of globalization...
...There are fights between moderates and conservatives, neocons and paleocons, small- and big-government types, populists and elitists, insurgents and the establishment...
...It was the day when two-thirds of House conservatives made a huge mistake...
...They argued instead that the Bush administration should build a wall along America’s southern border...
...He failed with it again in 2007...
...Capital is supposed to cross borders with ease...
...They opposed the reform vociferously...
...It may start again eventually, as some of the Cons point out...
...But neither party has found a language in which they are able to describe globalization’s successes...
...Bush’s reform went nowhere...
...The day when Lou Dobbs replaced Milton Friedman as the face of economic conservatism...
...And that is why the fi ght between the Pros and the Cons in the GOP is so important...
...Neither party has leaders who can discuss macroeconomics and geopolitics with equal felicity, and explain to voters how the two things are related...
...They’ll have plenty of options...
...And apparently the world is no longer simply fl at...
...Suddenly globalization seems frightening...
...Suddenly the federal government was “selling our ports” to foreigners...
...Construction on Clinton’s bridge has been indefi - nitely postponed...
...Let’s call the latter Cons...
...Future historians will spend careers arguing over when this new era began...
...But the cost in the meantime would be a poorer, and hence more dangerous, world...
...Each is ready to exploit the spectre of the “foreign...
...The leaders of the Cons are Representatives Duncan Hunter of California, Tom Tancredo of Colorado, and Ron Paul of Texas...
...A few brave souls tried to defend the global market...
...But the Dubai deal provoked a remarkable public outcry...
...There are still a few Pros in the Democratic party, but these days they aren’t too vocal...
...This was exactly the sort of deal that you’d expect in a globalized world...
...They see that the Pros are losing to the Cons...
...That’s because the real global economy of people making, selling, and buying things relies on access to credit...
...BY MATTHEW CONTINETTI Remember the good old days, when the world economy hummed along and globalization seemed exciting...
...Early that year the Bush administration sought to approve a deal that would have had a Dubaiowned company take over operations at major U.S...
...The internal fi ght over the bailout bill was different...
...It pitted the conservatives who want to promote the international system we call “globalization”— for simplicity let’s call them Pros—against those who do not...
...About a billion people have been lifted out of poverty...
...Conservatives can be anti-immigration and pro-bailout, or pro-trade and anti-immigration...
...Normally, politicians would love to run on a record like this...
...The leaders of the Pros are President Bush and John McCain...
...The Democrats may not have the right answers to the questions that globalization brings up, but they do present a unifi ed front...
...This is their moment...
...Doing nothing could mean an enduring economic recession, even depression...
...But when you look carefully enough, it’s fascinating how the same folks tend to line up together on global issues again and again...
...Doing nothing could lead to a global fi nancial meltdown...
...It’s been, in other words, a pro-globalization party...
...The global economy has also experienced an unprecedented prosperity during this period...
...One cannot argue, however, that there is no reason to support the plan...
...Hunter led the opposition, but the Democrats pitched in, too...
...The battle between the Pros and the Cons has been pronounced since 2006...
...Each party is far more likely to rely on old nostrums...
...There is a big reason: the possibility that the alternative—doing nothing—may be far worse...
...But their response to globalization has been far more unified...
...They oppose further economic integration with allies like South Korea and Colombia...
...Our allies cast a wary eye on American politics...
...They were totally ignored...
...The new politics of globalization also affects the Democrats...
...The markets need to see America taking decisive action...
...Plenty of them have entered the country illegally...
...Many of them railed against the bill as “socialism...
...Globalization depends on the free worldwide fl ow of capital, labor, and goods...
...They fi gured the costs of maintaining the system were too high...
...They tend to focus on the things globalization destroys (jobs, wages, economic security), while Republicans tend to be stymied by the things globalization creates (international finance, migrations, supranational and subnational identities...
...These are not cut and dried labels...
...The plan eventually passed Congress, but the vote on September 29 was the one that mattered...
...ports...
...That, after all, is what “creative destruction” is all about...
...The $700 billion, moreover, isn’t going to be spent digging ditches in Nevada or bringing electricity to Appalachia...
...Hunter and his allies scuttled the deal...
...Pros want to help this fl ow, while Cons want to shut it off...
...And the consequences have been dramatic...
...It’s a party of Cons...
...When President Clinton told Americans to stop what they were doing and help him build a bridge to the 21st century...
...Otherwise they will freeze up, and investment will stop...
...Well, those days are over...
...That’s the day when two-thirds of House Republicans voted to kill the Bush administration’s $700 billion “fi nancial rescue plan...
...When famous columnists celebrated the fact that The World Is Flat...
...Who knew what could happen as a result...
...You also notice how passionately they argue their point of view...
...The Cons who voted against Bush’s plan were willing to take that risk...
...Soon after the Dubai ports controversy, Bush asked Congress to approve his immigration reform...
...Each party is tempted by inward-looking public policies...
...And they are less convinced that our “hard power” protects global markets and therefore undergirds global stability...
...There were times during the bailout debate last week when National Review Online’s group blog, “The Corner,” resembled a rumble between the Crips and the Bloods...
...Americans under the age of 30 wouldn’t recognize a recession if it punched them in the face...
...During these uncertain times, Democrats have become more protectionist, more reliant on organized labor, and more willing to use state power to address inequity...
...It’s going to be spent buying securities that will later be sold—perhaps even at a profi t. One can argue that the administration’s plan won’t work, or that it won’t do enough to fi x the fi nancial crisis, or that the plan that failed in the House on September 29 didn’t contain enough oversight or tax breaks...
...Two weeks ago, when Bush asked Congress to spend $700 billion buying up Wall Street’s bad debts, the Cons blanched...
...President Bush has continued to underestimate the power of the Cons...
...The political commentator Michael Barone likes to point out that since 1983 “Americans have lived in a country that has enjoyed noninfl ationary economic growth 95 percent of the time...
...They cautioned that nobody was in any danger...
...Better to let it collapse and start over again...
...It sought to stabilize the labor fl ow by instituting a guestworker program and regularize the status of those immigrants who already were here...
...Hence the Cons’ position on free trade (against), immigration (against), and international fi nance (who needs it...
...We’re used to seeing certain types of arguments among Republicans...
...They argued that America ought to be open to outside investment...
...But they ought to take a good look at September 29, 2008...
...They are more willing to pool America’s sovereignty in collective security arrangements and other diplomatic compacts...
...It’s Hot, Flat and Crowded...
...The problem with the Cons is that they underestimate the role confi - dence plays in the global economy...
...Bush’s reform was classic pro-globalization legislation and would have helped the American economy...
...Once again, Hunter led the opposition, and, once again, Hunter won...
...Markets rely on trust and the perception of strength...
...But, contrary to popular myth, America has always had a mixed economy with elements of both the free market and interventionist government...
...The world economy is teetering...
...In a systemic banking crisis, credit can disappear...
Vol. 14 • October 2008 • No. 5
