A Major Difference Between Democrats and (Most) Republicans
Republicans Are More Inclined to Seek Out Private Sector Experts During an Economic Crisis. Most Democrats? Government is the Oracle of All Wisdom, aka Anthony Fauci
I can no longer find the quote on the Intertubes, but Washington, DC’s delegate to Congress, the illustrious 84-year-old Eleanor Holmes Norton, an iconic and perpetual advocate for DC statehood, once said something that Democrats tend not to say out loud.
“Democrats are the party of government,” so they should be in charge. Or something like that. I seem to recall that quote from around 2006, following the Democratic recapture of the US House of Representatives. It may have been sooner. I wish I could find it, but I suspect it has been scrubbed for obvious reasons.
But what she said rings true. Democrats ARE the party of government, as in the “Atlas Shrugged” Wesley-Mouch-is-our-lord-and-savior variety. If we would just let our public experts, like Lord Dr. Anthony Fauci, a modern-day Mouch, direct our thoughts and actions, we could have the worker’s paradise we all allegedly seek.
Except that is not how Americans think, at least now. It ebbs and flows, but mostly ebbs. From Gallup:
Take our current “supply chain” crisis, especially at the ports. Over 100 container ships are waiting to be unloaded offshore in Long Beach and Los Angeles alone, while thousands of other containers wait to be loaded on trucks for delivery to warehouses, retailers, and others across the United States. You know the thing.
Except that Ryan Petersen has suggestions. And it isn’t rocket science, except that he’s a logistics expert who, unlike Transporation Secretary, “I’m busy with paternity leave” Pete Buttigieg and “Who am I? What am I doing here” President Joe Biden knows his business. His plan is straightforward, but don’t look for the imbeciles in our governments to act:
OK, these are kind of technical, and yes, I’ve had some experience with logistics and supply chains. But really, this is not rocket science. I can imagine a President Trump, DeSantis, Pompeo, Christie, pick-your-GOP-president turning to Ryan for advice and implementing these simple suggestions. Biden, not so much. Maybe if there was an ice cream shortage.
But don’t expect Biden to call Petersen. He’ll wait for “I love trains” former McKinsey consultant Pete Buttigieg to return from two or more months of paternity leave during a transportation crisis for advice and direction. OMG.
That is the government 81 million “voters” voted for and deserved. Good and hard.
Please read the complete set of Petersen’s observations and recommendations here from his thread on Twitter. If you want things when you want them, especially for Christmas, you may want to pay attention.
The Democrats’ response? Not “Make America Great Again,” but Lower your expectations. That’s a winner.
The author is a former deputy secretary of transportation and Secretary of the US Senate.