RESPONSE TO – Secretary of College Democrats Speaks Out
The main thrust of Dave Chapman’s opinion is that the midterm “shellacking” should be a wake-up call for Democrats, who are in serious danger in 2012 — and I agree. It would be difficult, however, for me to disagree more about what course of action this wake-up call demands.
The narrative of the jumbled Democratic docket is a myth that no liberal of any color should perpetuate; the left-center caucus did in fact tackle the economy first. Further, they tried to work with Republicans. Econ 102 and the past 100 years of history validate Obama’s fiscal stimulus as the best move toward “making conditions conducive to job creation.” However, Republicans made it clear from day one that fixing the economy was not “something that both parties wanted” — the anemic stimulus was too watered down by the other side of the aisle to have the desired affect, although economists generally agree that it prevented the economy from slipping into further decline. While some may argue that Keynesian economics are “divisive” and even “socialist”, the right’s only solution was more tax cuts (those worked well under Bush, right?), which economists now know are relatively ineffective compared to a stimulus.
