"Conservative" columnist: Republicans f***ed up and are f***ed up

David Brooks of the New York Times is a "conservative" columnist, so his job is to write good things about Republicans (otherwise the paper wouldn't be "objective"). The problem is, the man has at least half a brain. So it's just damn hard for him to keep from writing things like this:

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt inherited an economic crisis. He understood that his first job was to restore confidence, to give people a sense that somebody was in charge, that something was going to be done.

This generation of political leaders is confronting a similar situation, and, so far, they have failed utterly and catastrophically to project any sense of authority, to give the world any reason to believe that this country is being governed. Instead, by rejecting the rescue package on Monday, they have made the psychological climate much worse...

House Republicans led the way and will get most of the blame. It has been interesting to watch them on their single-minded mission to destroy the Republican Party. Not long ago, they led an anti-immigration crusade that drove away Hispanic support. Then, too, they listened to the loudest and angriest voices in their party, oblivious to the complicated anxieties that lurk in most American minds.

Now they have once again confused talk radio with reality. If this economy slides, they will go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century. With this vote, they’ve taken responsibility for this economy, and they will be held accountable. The short-term blows will fall on John McCain, the long-term stress on the existence of the G.O.P. as we know it.

I’ve spoken with several House Republicans over the past few days and most admirably believe in free-market principles. What’s sad is that they still think it’s 1984. They still think the biggest threat comes from socialism and Walter Mondale liberalism. They seem not to have noticed how global capital flows have transformed our political economy.

Well said, David Brooks.

Political movements have a tendency to outlive their usefulness. For example: welfare did a lot of good in the 70s. But Democrats still thought American poverty could be eliminated by throwing government money at unemployed single moms well into the early 90s. They were wrong.

Now Republicans think that every problem can be solved with tax cuts and deregulation. In 1980, tax rates were too high (over 90% for some!), and regulation was a confusing thicket of red tape designed to protect favored industries. But that was 28 years ago! The cut-taxes-and-deregulate mania is older now than welfare was when it was abolished, but the Republicans keep going to the same well. And there's practically no one in the U.S. who's not being hurt by that fact.

Give Democrats credit. They turned their party around in the 1990s, and came up with some pretty decent updates to 70s-era liberalism. Until the Republicans update their own ideas, we're going to see a lot of "conservative" columnists struggling to defend "conservatism."