No Media, Socialist Policy Proposals Are Not 'Ambitious'

It happens like clockwork.  Every time a Democrat “unveils” some grand, big-government scheme to “solve a crisis,” the media labels their proposals “ambitious” and “bold.”  Because that’s what genuine socialist takeovers like “Medicare-for-All” and the “Green New Deal” – or even more “modest” efforts like Obamacare and the 2009 stimulus package – are, you know.  Or so we’re told.

Most recently, these words predictably followed the release of Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s “Medicare-for-All” proposal.  The media talked about her “bold proposition” for an “ambitious” plan.  It’s “bold” and “detailed,” you see, with tremendous “ambition and scale.”

But on the occasion that Republicans put forward ideas like eliminating federal departments and agencies, cutting regulations on a massive scale or reforming Social Security so that individuals can choose personal accounts if they want – the media scantly uses such adjectives.

For some reason, massive entitlements and intricate bureaucracies are always and necessarily intrepid policy proposals.  Yet there’s nothing genuinely “ambitious” or “bold” about pitching complex, massive programs to give people “free stuff” and make “the top 1%” pay for it.  The reality is that this path – the big government path – is truly the easy thing to do.

Sure, selling voters on “Medicare-for-All” and the “Green New Deal” will rightly be hard.  Americans do still value freedom and choice, after all.  But an honest look reveals that these ideas aren’t really so grand after all.  That’s because the arc of American history since 1913 has been to grow government with only a few course-corrections along the way.

As Ronald Reagan said way back in 1964, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear.  Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on Earth.”

Truer words were never spoken.  How many federal programs have been created that have really gone away?

The Federal Reserve, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and the War on Poverty, the Department of Education (which Reagan himself vowed to eliminate) – they all still exist today.  Even Obamacare, which Republicans promised for years to repeal, is still there – with only the individual insurance mandate neutered.

No matter how big they fail – and most of these programs have failed, to be sure – they are still among the living.  Admittedly, some of these programs may have changed shape a bit, but they’re still around today, and bigger than ever.

The Left has typically been very savvy in strategically growing government programs.  Historically, they’ve successfully followed a more incremental, slow-and-steady strategy.  Today, socialistic stalwarts like Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are impatient – and the Democratic base is increasingly with them.  They want sweeping, massive change by socialistic fiat, and they want it right away.  They feel the wind underneath their sails; now is the time to strike, not to wait.  Perhaps that’s strategically ambitious – but the policies are not.

In truth, the hardest thing to accomplish is to shrink government – its size, its scope and its power.  Perhaps the most notable example of someone trying to do this is George W. Bush’s failed attempt to reform Social Security in 2005.  Medicare and Social Security have long been known as the “third rail of American Politics,” and Bush’s effort was both bold and valiant.

Not only was Bush unsuccessful – but our current Republican president won’t dare speak of entitlement reform.

On the other hand, President Trump must be commended for taking an ax to the regulatory state and appointing two Supreme Court justices who are more inclined toward constitutionally-limited government.  These are among the greatest hallmarks of his presidency so far and are remarkable achievements.  But when the Left speaks all doom and gloom about conservatives pushing granny off the cliff, taking your food stamps away and advocating “austerity,” they exaggerate.  Like, they really exaggerate.

To be bold and ambitious in politics today is to do the difficult thing.  The truly difficult thing.

That means proposing smart solutions that are rooted in unleashing the unlimited potential of every individual to improve their own lives – not in unchaining the power of Almighty Uncle Sam to try (and fail) to solve our problems for us.