It was no small irony. On the same morning that the nation paid its last respects to President George H.W. Bush, Wisconsin Republicans rammed through legislation stealing power from incoming Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, both Democrats.
Now, before we go too far, we need to remind ourselves that George Bush was a successful politician at the highest levels. He didn’t get there by being a nice guy all the time. The Willie Horton ad will forever be a stain on his reputation. But so many people he came across, including those in the Washington press corps, described him as a kind and decent man that I’m inclined to put the Horton ad down to more of an anomaly than any kind of deep insight into his overall character.
A better insight into who he was is the 1990 budget agreement, which is famous because in it Bush broke his “no new taxes” pledge, which he had made at the 1988 Republican convention. It’s fair to characterize what Bush did as putting the interests of the country ahead of his own political career. Bush had made his pledge under the assumption that a strong economy would continue into his first term. But when a recession hit he had to deal with a Democratic Congress to balance the budget.
The Democrats insisted on tax increases while Bush wanted spending cuts. They negotiated and compromised and each side got what some of what it wanted. In the end, Bush signed a budget that included a 3 percent increase in the top tax rate. That’s right. A Republican signed a bill that actually increased taxes on the rich.
Fast forward to last year when Republicans pushed through massive new tax cuts for the rich without any concern at all for the massive deficits this will produce. George Bush had his faults, but the 1990 budget showed that he was willing to spend some of his own political capital to do what he thought was best for the country in the long run.
The irony is that Bush was attacked for his lack of character in going back on his word when he should have been lauded for his character in knowingly sacrificing his own political prospects to compromise with Democrats and to keep the government moving and the country on track.
Contrast that with the actions of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Within a day of Gov. Scott Walker’s defeat Vos was already talking about a lame duck session designed to curb the incoming governor’s powers along with those of new Attorney General Josh Kaul. A bill was worked out by Republicans in a closed process, a hearing (where no one would really be heard) was hastily arranged and the bill was forced through on party line votes in the dead of night.
All this despite the fact that Democrats won every statewide office and bested Republican Assembly candidates by a total of 200,000 votes just weeks earlier. The people had spoken but Vos and Fitzgerald weren’t about to listen to them.
Vos and Fitzgerald are the new brand of Republican. Clear-eyed in their agenda to cut taxes for the rich and clear the way for not just business but all-out personal greed. And they’ll trample any democratic process or political norm that might be in the way. Vos and Fitzgerald treat our democracy as if it were just another two-bit banana republic. Under these two the rules apply only when they work to their advantage. When they don’t, well, they just change the rules.
In this way Vos and Fitzgerald aren’t just limiting the power of two offices. They’re undermining the entire basis on which we build our system: the idea that rules should apply equally regardless of who is in office.
Last week the nation was reminded what politicians once were: ambitious, flawed, sometimes willing to do nasty things in order to win, sure. But also willing to put the best interests of the people ahead of their own political future when necessary, able to graciously accept defeat when it came, and unwilling to change fundamental rules just to suit themselves.
George Bush will be remembered as a man big enough to fill the highest office in the land. How will Vos and Fitzgerald be remembered?
