Bucks
Whole Foods Republicans, Marshall Wampole
Dear Friends,
Good morning and Merry Christmas (to my non Christian friends, Happy Holidays). Before I get to my main topic, Whole Foods Republicans, here’s a Christmas item.
The other day, I stopped in to see Marshall Wampole who has a snow blower and lawn mower shop in Quakertown. For decades, Marshall has risked considerable injury by climbing upon the roof of his store to assemble three (it used to be four) lighted reindeer pulling Santa and his sleigh. Now, the fourth leads Santa’s other sleigh at Marshall’s home.
The display at his store has charmed our middle child, Anne, since she was an infant. For years, I’ve helped Marshall put it together. Usually, we wait for a rainy, icy day, which makes the process more unpredictable and dangerous. This year, he was too quick. He apparently didn’t need me to hang onto his belt as he leaned out over the roof to install and illuminate the reindeer. Marshall told me that he’d call me on the first miserable, inclement day in January to take it down.
At age 83, Marshall is amazing. An army veteran of World War II, he still has a full head of hair. He showed three photos of him in the 1940’s, which he carries in his wallet (for good luck, I suppose). When I stopped in to see him, Marshall was putting birdseed in a trough so the squirrels would come for a visit. “I love to see the squirrels chasing each other,” he laughed.
As I parked my car at Marshall’s store, I turned off my car radio where I’d been listening to Michael Smerconish interviewing Michael Petrilli who’d written an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal (Dec. 14). Petrilli is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He believes that the Republican Party is making a terrible mistake by excluding all but the far right.
“What’s needed is a full-fledged effort to cultivate “Whole Foods Republicans”- independent-minded voters who embrace a progressive lifestyle but not progressive politics,” Petrilli warns. “The voting patterns of the college-educated is a group that, slowly but surely, is growing larger every year. About 30 percent of Americans 25 and older have at least a bachelor’s degree. In 1988, that number was only 20 percent and in 1968, it was 10 percent.
“As less-educated seniors pass away and better-educated 20- and 30- something’s take their place in the electorate, this bloc will exert growing influence,” Petrilli continued. “According to exit-poll data [after the Obama victory], 53 percent of college-educated voters pulled the lever for Mr. Obama in 2008.
“What makes these voters potential Republicans is that, lifestyle choices aside, they view big government with great suspicion,” Petrilli wrote. “There’s no law that someone who enjoys organic food, rides his bike to work, or wants a diverse school for his kids must also believe that the federal government should take over the health-care system or waste money on thousands of social programs with no evidence of effectiveness. Nor do highly educated people have to agree that a strong national defense is harmful to the cause of peace and international cooperation.
“So how to woo these voters to the Republican column,” Petrilli asked? “The first step is to stop denigrating intelligence and education. The same is true for Mrs. Palin’s inability to name a single newspaper she reads.
“Even more important is the party’s message on divisive social issues,” Petrilli opined. “When some Republicans use homophobic language, express thinly disguised contempt toward immigrants, or ridicule heartfelt concerns for the environment, they affront the values of the educated class. And they lose votes they otherwise ought to win.
“America is becoming better educated, more inclusive, and more concerned about the environment,” Petrilli concluded. “The Republican Party can either catch this wave, or watch its historic opportunity for “resurgence” wash away with the tides.”
My bet is that the GOP is either too stubborn or isn’t smart enough to remember the demise of the Wig Party in 1856. That’s when the Wig Party lost its way and became irrelevant. Would you believe that the Republican Party is still trying to formalize a 10-point litmus test to exclude the “unwashed” (unacceptable) Republicans from seeking elective office?
That’s why Arlen Specter left the GOP to become a Democrat. He knew that ultra conservative Republican Pat Toomey would defeat him in next year’s Primary election. Why? The answer is Pennsylvania’s Republican power brokers are on the far right of the political spectrum.
In the meantime, not one of the 40 Republicans in the U.S. Senate is willing to vote for the President’s health plan. And because the Senate has a filibuster rule, it’s unclear whether Mr. Obama can attract the 60 votes needed for passage.
Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent-Connecticut) threatens to vote with the 40 Republicans and if he does, the health plan is dead. It should surprise no one that Lieberman is in the pocket of Connecticut based insurance companies. They’ve given millions to his campaign coffers, throughout the years.
It’s obvious to me that the Senate should change at least one of its own rules. Way back in 1806, the Senate created Rule 22, which became the filibuster rule. Any Senator or group of senators can speak as long as they want unless a super majority votes for cloture [stopping debate], Rule 22 states. A super majority means 3/5 of the senate, or 60 votes.
Next year, Pennsylvanians will vote for a U.S. Senator. We should ask each of the candidates to end Rule 22 and conduct business as the House of Representatives does…by a simple majority.
The zillion-dollar question is whether Democratic lawmakers would push through a budget resolution that would allow them to pass health-care legislation with a simple majority (51 votes) in the Senate instead of the 60 votes normally required to avoid a filibuster. With at least 59 Democrats in the Senate, that would all but guarantee that Democrats would not need a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. That ploy is called “budget reconciliation.” You might hear more of it by year’s end.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith