The Age of Herbert Stein

Even with the warm weather lingering into October, I’m declaring an end to summer and marking the return of The Column.

We have entered Day Two of a Federal government shutdown, the latest in a series of a dozen-and-a-half such shutdowns that have occurred over the past forty years or so.

The latest deadlock between Congress and the President is the result of the unbridgeable divide between the parties that I’ve been writing about for the past two years.  The differences between Democrats and Republicans are ones of kind, not of degree.  Since there is no overlap in what the two parties want, there is no natural point of compromise.

More interesting than the national story is the local dispute between the Minnesota Orchestra and its musicians.  This dispute/lockout/strike had dragged on for more than a year and has cost the Orchestra its celebrity conductor and more than a full season worth of concerts.

We Need a Reform Conservatism

Ross Douthat, the New York Times’ only conservative columnist, posted a helpful piece today on “What Is Reform Conservatism?  An agenda for an almost-movement.”

I met Ross a few weeks ago when he was in town to give a talk on his latest book, before a packed house.  I think he is someone we should be listening to.

Ross concedes in his post today that the idea of reform conservatism “has not exactly caught fire within the G.O.P.”  When you are fighting against the daily catastrophes brought on by one-party rule—as we are in Minnesota—or the too-many-scandals-too-count in Washington, it’s tough to look longer term at ideas worth implementing when (not if) we are back in power.

I’m optimistic that—in Minnesota—we may be back in 2014, so now is the time for building a consensus around a positive agenda for change in state government.

Last month I made a few suggestions to get started on a reform agenda for Minnesota.  Today, Ross offers a six point agenda that is useful as a starting point for discussions.  I wish he would have included a point on education reform (as I did) but that is more a quibble than a criticism.

More useful for the idea of establishing a conservative reform agenda are the two premises Ross’ articulates as underlying his thinking on the subject.

First, Ross discusses the need for “making family life more affordable, upward mobility more likely, and employment easier to find.”

Second, Ross names that the biggest hurdle to making that happen,

The existing welfare-state institutions we’ve inherited from the New Deal and the Great Society, however, often make these tasks harder rather than easier:  Their exploding costs crowd out every other form of spending

I’ve made exactly that same point before.  You would think that we would share common ground with those on the other side of the fence who genuinely want to help the needy.  The No. 1 reason why there is not more money to help the neediest?  Because of the huge share of our budget devoted to programs that we know don’t work.

Ross’ conclusion,

So we don’t face a choice between streamlining the welfare state and making it more supportive of work and family; we should be doing both at once.

Just as important are the items that Ross lists that should not be part of a conservative reform agenda:  no cap and trade, no more tax increases, etc.

I agree with the idea that we need something of a conservative reform movement.  Let’s get started.

Reaching the Low Information Voter, Part 2

In the first part of this series, I explore Minnesota’s current political landscape and suggest some messages crafted to reach democracy’s newest key demographic: low information voters.  In this part, I dig deeper into what low information voters actually know, and how to approach them.

Reaching the Low Information Voter, Part 1

With the 2013 legislative session now behind us, the 2014 election campaign can begin in earnest.  With major elections set for Governor, U.S. Senator, and the state House of Representatives, Minnesota’s voters have the opportunity to change the direction of the state’s politics for the third time in four years.

For the state’s Democrats, now enjoying one-party rule in St. Paul, the election is theirs to lose.  Thus the focus will inevitably fall on the Republicans’ response to the opportunity before them.   Already, there is no shortage of advice, coming from all points on the political compass.

Restoring Common Sense

...one bakery at a time.  The Common Sense Restoration Project.  Say, didn't I once read about another revolution that started in Boston?

H/T InstaPundit.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Homelessness

[Note:  on the subjects of homelessness in Minnesota and government accountability, in this post I respond to the thoughtful comment posted by author Charlie Quimby on this site last week.  I encourage you, the reader to read his comment first before reading this post.]

Upon reflection, I would say that my comments on these subjects have been directed more toward the media and public relations aspects of homelessness, rather than toward the efforts of people doing good work to alleviate the problem.  I hope that view is more clear in this post.

On the usefulness of audacious goals
Mr. Quimby provides some helpful history behind how the last Governor in 2004 brought together state and local governments, along with charities and the private sector, to set the goal of ending long-term homelessness in Minnesota by 2010.

Red State Growth Corridors

In the Wall Street Journal Joel Kotkin writes about the growth corridors in America's red states.  Sadly, there are no growth corridors in blue states.  And he mentions Minnesota.  By name.  And not in a good way.

The Swedish Model and the Growth Agenda

History warns us, however, that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions.

--Thomas Henry Huxley (1880)

The February 2^nd edition of The Economist carries a 14-page special report on the political and economic reforms underway in the four Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland).  Just as the U.S. and Minnesota are moving toward more social democracy, it turns out the birthplace of the Scandinavian-style welfare state is moving in the opposite direction.

Here in Minnesota—where more than 32 percent of Minnesotans still trace their ancestry to the Nordic countries (2010 Census data)—our one-party state government struggles with developing any new policy ideas beyond warmed-over 1970’s Scandinavian welfare statism.

I hold out hope that examining the new directions the Nordic states are taking may help us with some clues on how to develop a Minnesota-style growth agenda.

Joel Kotkin's Advice for California

From the Orange County Register last week.  Kotkin writes,

"Government can play a critical, even determinative, role here. But it needs to shift priorities from redistribution and wealth suppression to providing the basic infrastructure essential for a growth economy."

Hope for the Future

Walter Russell Mead provides some hope for the post-blue future in his newest essay.  He writes,

"The post-blue future for the middle class is bright, and instead of using the weight of the state to shore up a declining blue system to defend an embattled middle class we need to use that power to promote the transition to a 21st-century political economy and a reinvigorated middle class—larger, richer and more in charge than ever before. This is not a call to dismantle the state; there really are important things that government has to do in a complicated and interconnected society. It’s a call to transform, retool and repurpose the state so that it becomes an engine for progress rather than an anchor trying to hold us in place."

What Comes After the Blue State Model?

Walter Russell Mead tries to peer over the horizon at what will come next in his newest essay.

A Word of Caution to My DFL Friends

The 88th Minnesota Legislature convened a few minutes ago.  Congratulations to all of the members who were elected or re-elected for this session.

Local media are filled today with warnings for the new DFL (Democrat-Farmer-Labor) majorities, who enjoy one-party rule in St. Paul for the first time in a generation.  (See this, this and this.)

Their task, it is said, is “to prove that a state governed by Democrats can create progress without overreaching.”  Implicit in this warning is that the Democrats know where the line lies between creating progress and overreaching.

Based on my recent adventures in electoral politics, I’m not convinced they do.  Last autumn, our traveling campaign circus moved from public forum to public forum around the Southwest Metro.  The spending and policy promises made by the DFL candidates would pile up at every stop. Surely not everyone can be made happy.

Avoiding "Sherpa Conservatism"

[Prototype for "The Column"]

Over the next few months, in the wake of the recent elections, Republicans and conservatives at every level (national, state, local) will (and should) be engaged in a big rethink of who we are and what we are about.  Clearly, the current approach is not working well enough.

Those on the other side, in an uncharacteristic bout of apparent helpfulness, suggest that Republicans need to return to the halcyon days of the "moderate Republican."  This political creature was quick to compromise and always looking for ways to split the difference.  I'm all for improving the tone and working constructively, but limits need to be set.

Columnist Jonah Goldberg has coined a phrase for this "moderate" approach to politics:  Sherpa Conservatism.  Writing in National Review, Goldberg describes Sherpa Conservatism as follows,

"Good conservatives... should know their place and gladly serve as Sherpas to the great mountaineers of liberalism, pointing out occasional missteps, perhaps suggesting a slight course correction from time to time, but never losing sight of the need for upward 'progress' and happily carrying the extra baggage for progressives in their zealous but heroic quest for the summit."

The Perpetually Forthcoming Book

Before my recent adventures in electoral politics, I was rolling out parts of a book on government reform under the nom de guerre "Private Citizen."  So far, I have reissued three excerpts that can be found here

• "More Admirals Than Ships" explores the bureaucratic animal
• "Education" more money is not the answer
• "The Reform Agenda" whatever can't go on forever, won't

On to the Next Round

The Edina Patch has a story today about the result of last week's endorsing convention for Minnesota Senate District 49 Republican candidates.

A Big Thank You to SD 49!

I want to thank all the SD49 delegates who came out this evening for an exercise in "Jeffersonian" democracy!  The hard work begins now!

Campaign Site is Up

I've put up a rudimentary web site for the 49A campaign.

49A Candidate Forum Tonight

Along with the rest of the candidates for house seat 49A, I will be at the Calvary Lutheran Church tonight for our Senate District's regular monthly meeting.  From 7 to 7:30, we will have a candidate's forum.  Come and learn more about us and the issues facing Edina.

Faith and the Economy

Still catching up from last week:  in Forbes, Joel Kotkin discusses the role of religion in the broader economy.

If you can get past the gratuitous Rick Santorum swipe, there is some great material in here, such as,

"Social networks, much celebrated among the single, might provide people with voices, but religious organizations actually do something about meeting real human needs."

The Regulatory Leviathan

Over at Private Citizen Media, I post a second excerpt of the forthcoming book.  This post focuses on the regulatory state and how it works to strangle job creation.