As the Republican Presidential Primary process winds it way to conclusion, slowly, but inexorably, the term class warfare is becoming a ubiquitous staple of campaign-speak. Frequently it is bandied about by the GOP quartet seeking the Party’s nomination for president, as they mischaracterize President Obama’s effort to promote making the American tax system fairer. The President has made a case for revising the tax code and adjusting tax responsibilities so that the middle class absorbs less of the over all tax burden, while the wealthy assume a larger share. Interestingly, but not at all surprisingly, a clear majority of Americans agree with the President on this matter.
Given that preamble, I viewed it as a matter of sublime irony when last Saturday, Rick Santorum labeled President Obama a snob. He did this because the President is an advocate for higher education for all Americans. As the Senator put it, “President Obama has said he wants everybody in America
As he waxed philosophical, the good former Senator from Pennsylvania
It surely makes for a compelling story; the key problem is it reshapes and spins the facts. In elevating the focus on university education, Santorum blithely disregards the crux of the Obama argument. Mr. Obama’s proposal incorporates technical and vocational training as central components of a plan to “Win the Future.” The Senator’s dissembling commentary takes on the President’s message in a frontal assault, and skews it beyond recognition. Could this be intentional? You be the judge!
To interpret this narrative effectively, it is important to recognize that the Republican Party eagerly embraced the Limbaugh-inspired mantra of, above all else, “wanting this President to fail.” In a toxic and negativist environment, such as this, it has become commonplace for Republicans to blame the President for every conceivable ill that has occurred in American, and abroad, during his years in office.
“When I speak about higher education we’re not just talking about a four-year degree. We’re talking about somebody going to a community college and getting trained for that manufacturing job that now is requiring somebody walking through the door, handling a million-dollar piece of equipment. And they can’t go in there unless they’ve got some basic training beyond what they received in high school.”
Even after accepting the preordained reality that political opponents often resort to sleight of hand, it appears Santorum must have crossed the “Bridge to No where” when he suggested President Obama’s support for making higher education an imperative for all Americans equates to snobbery. In short, Santorum’s position on this matter strains credulity.
One may infer even GOP Primary voters were, like a majority of Americans repelled (or at least de-incentivized) by such inanity. In fact, even one of Mr. Santorum’s rivals for the Nomination distinguished himself by disagreeing with him. Newt Gingrich conceded the President’s call for Americans to “commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training" seemed "perfectly reasonable."
Gingrich said on NBC’s “Today Show” yesterday, that Mr. Obama’s comment “strikes me as perfectly reasonable. Everybody in America is going have to get re-educated all the time because jobs are going to change, technology is going to change, and if we're going to compete in the world market, we both have to have the best equipment and the best training."
The Senator’s reward for this and probably a series of other ideological tacks voters may consider gaffes, including on religion, and on female reproductive rights, was a reversal of fortune from his four-state sweep from a few weeks ago. He lost both of yesterday’s contests, Michigan and Arizona Michigan
Mr. Santorum’s latest gambit is literally, class warfare. He emphatically, and inexplicably, I might add, attacked the viability of the classroom and its influence on the potential for America
Aside from his attempt to throw a lance into the heart of the Obama campaign, the legacy and perspective of Mr. Santorum on college is pretty clear. Santorum earned a BA, an MBA, and a JD, his wife is a lawyer, so obviously has multiple degrees, his 93 year-old mother, as he shared last night in his concession speech, holds two degrees, and he indicated he recommended higher education to his children, including college. And yet, the President is a snob, according to Mr. Santorum’s diatribe.
In characterizing some of Newt Gingrich’s tactics a few weeks ago, I borrowed the catch phrase, Dog-whistle politics. The practice describes the use of code words to gin-up excitement and voter turnout among discretely identifiable subsets of voters. Moreover, an important element of the practice is to appeal to fears and baser instincts. It is a methodology at which the former Speaker of the House excels…and one for which the former Senator from Pennsylvania Slick Rick Way
I’m done; holla back!
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