While Senate Democrat leaders have spent the bulk of their legislative energy obstructing the Republican agenda of pro-growth economic policies, a tough approach to the War on Terror, and conservative judicial nominees, it may come as a surprise to some that they found the time to come up with an agenda of their own. But they
do have an agenda, all right — they just can’t talk about it. The problem for national Democrats is that their plan for America is simply unpalatable to voters — and they know it.
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So instead of talking openly about what they would really do if they took power, Democrats are forced to cloak their ideas in disingenuous spin. The Democratic strategy for the 2006 election reminds me of the story of the Trojan Horse. Democrats are hiding their real agenda inside a seemingly-appealing package made of flashy rhetoric, poll-tested messages, and glittering generalities, while their leaders hope to be handed the majority so they can pursue their hidden plans.
But by breaking through the political doublespeak and looking at their record, we can get a good sense of what Democrats would do with a congressional majority.
Perhaps the greatest disparity between the Democratic message and the truth behind it can be found in their economic plan. While Democrats say they favor pro-growth policies and use comforting words like “opportunity” and “innovation,” reality just doesn’t match the rhetoric.
Ninety percent of Democrats opposed the tax relief that spurred economic expansion by putting more money in the pockets of America’s families and small businesses after the triple shocks of 9/11, corporate scandals, and the bursting of the tech bubble. What were the effects of those tax relief packages? At least 6.6 million new jobs since August of 2003, an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent (well below the averages of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s), and 37 straight months of GDP expansion. None of that growth would have occurred had Democrats succeeded in blocking tax relief — but they sure tried.
Democrats also opposed efforts to curb lawsuit abuse — a whopping $200 billion drag on our economy. Republicans understand the negative effect junk lawsuits have on our economy and healthcare system, and acted by passing class-action reform legislation. The Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the plan. As a note, lawyers have given more than $56 million to Democrat candidates this election cycle. It seems Democrats are more interested in appeasing the trial attorneys that fund their campaigns than in growing our economy and providing access to quality, low-cost healthcare.
Despite our robust economic growth, many Americans felt the squeeze of high prices at the gas pump. Our country is too dependent on foreign sources of oil, and must find responsible and environmentally sound ways to increase domestic production. Progress was made on this front when Republicans recently passed a bill to allow oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, Democrats have blocked exploration in the tiny sliver of ANWR’s frozen tundra (2,000 of its nearly 20 million acres) despite the support of 75 percent of Alaskans and a majority of congress. In fact, key energy legislation was stalled for the last five years because of Democrat opposition to ANWR, and even more time was lost in 1996 when Bill Clinton blocked exploration there. Those lost years of production would have significantly reduced our dependence on foreign oil and lowered the cost of gasoline for American families and businesses, and developing ANWR will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. For Democrats, though, the demands of extreme environmentalists trump the needs of America’s economy.
Most recently, Senate Democrats blocked the Trifecta Bill, which would have permanently reduced the death tax and extended some of the most successful tax provisions now in place — including the tuition tax credit, the sales-tax deduction, and research and development credits that help stimulate technological innovation.
If handed the majority, Democrats will repeal the tax relief that spurred impressive job creation and economic expansion. Democratic control of congress would mean a $2,000 tax hike for a family of four making $50,000 a year. Democrats will allow trial lawyers to hold America’s doctors and small businesses hostage. In the hands of Chairman Ted Kennedy, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will increase government spending and stop our efforts to reform entitlement programs. And Democrats will choke our exporters and isolate American industry by gutting our trade agreements.
But you won’t hear any of this from Democrats on the stump, and you won’t hear any of this from their leaders in Washington. They know that dog simply won’t hunt. Instead, they talk about anything and everything else, all the while rolling their Trojan Horse closer and closer to the Capitol steps.
The win-at-all-cost leaders of the Democratic party are trying to convince the American people that Republican economic leadership has been ineffective, and that they can be trusted to grow the economy and create jobs. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Democratic Trojan Horse doesn’t hide soldiers, but a set of policies that will set this country on a path to economic decline. The American people simply cannot let that Horse into the Senate.
This election year, beware of Democrats bearing gifts.
— Senator Elizabeth Dole is the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
