The two most important of all political issues – war and the economy – also take their own course, independent of our domestic partisan politics. The political parties claim to be able to navigate us around or through war hazards and economic crises... But the pilots they bring on board are often hopeless landlubbers looking through the wrong end of the telescope with their nautical charts upside down. (I’d say we’ve got two of them on offer this November 3.) In fact, Republicans and Democrats often take us to exactly where you’d expect they wouldn’t... If there ever was a pattern... you think you know what party is what, then that party goes all whatchamajigger. For the past 150 years, the most broadly punishing financial panics, business recessions, and economic depressions have begun while for-the-love-of-money Republican presidents were in power, rather than when share-the-wealth Democrats were in charge: • The Long Depression of 1873-1879 – Ulysses S. Grant • Panic of 1882 – Chester Alan Arthur • Panic of 1893 – Benjamin Harrison • Panic of 1907 – Theodore Roosevelt (Ok, trust-busting TR was tough on big business so maybe we can blame this on his inner Democrat.)
• The Great Depression – Herbert Hoover • Stagflation of 1973-1975 – Richard Nixon • Dot-com Bubble Burst – George W. Bush • The Great Recession – W. again To add perplexity to paradox, during most of the 20th century it was the internationalist, peace-loving, why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along Democrats, not the bellicose, saber-rattling Republicans who sent the nation into combat: • WWI – Woodrow Wilson, who’d been elected on the promise he’d keep us out. • WWII – FDR, who’d been elected promising something similar, though less of it. • Korea – Truman (who, in fairness, made no such promises). • Vietnam – JFK and LBJ. The pattern became proverbial. “Elect a Republican, get a depression. Elect a Democrat, get a war.” Of course, since then, the pattern has gotten mixed up, with Republicans taking the lead in sending troops to godforsaken places and Democrats doing their best to impoverish us all with high taxes, social spending, regulatory interference, and vows to implement lots more of all three. If there ever was a pattern... you think you know what party is what, then that party goes all whatchamajigger. First it was the Democrats who favored low tariffs and free trade, then it was the Republicans. First it was the Republicans who supported racial equality, then the Democrats took over. Democrats used to be able to count on blue- collar workers, then there was nothing left to count. Southerners once were “yellow dog
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October 2020
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