Cataloging Rolicy & Support Office Washington, DC 20540-4305

Additional reasons for instituting CULTURE WARS as a stand:- alone subject heading.

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Lords of Misrule

1928n Homer Ferguson, a former presi- Much better a government unworthy of that The Wrecking Crew dent of the Chamber of Commerce, took trust. "The best public servant," he con- How Conservatives Rule. to the pages of the Nation's Business to cluded, "is the worst one." By Thomas Frank. . complain about the federal government. In The Wrecking Crew, Thomas Frank IMetropolitan. 369 pp. $25. The problems he addressed were not the argues that the spirit of Homer Ferguson usualIbugbears of red tape, inefficiency ana is alive and well in the Republican Party. It involving military contracting and regula- waste. Rather, Ferguson argued that gov- was resurrected in the 1980s, when Presi- tory snafus in matters ranging from food ernment sometimes worked too well. "A dent Reagan appointed an Environmental safety to financial markets. thoroughly first-rate man in public service Protection Agency administrator who op- Frank argues that the public failures of is corrosive," he said. "He eats holes in our posed most environmental regulation and the Bush administration are the very es- liberties." Even worse was an "enthusiast," eviscerated the agency's enforcement divi- sence of conservative government-the pre- that "bright-eyed madman who is frantic sion. It lives on in the hapless cronies and dictable outcome of the anti-Washington, to make this the finest government in the inexperienced ideologues the Bush ad- free-market ideology that has triumphed world." Ferguson was candid about his ministration has elevated to positions of within the Republican Party and in national animus toward good government. He was a authority, of whom Michael Brown and politics over the past three decades. Con- military contractor, building warships for the Monica Goodling are only the most famous servatives won elections by arguing that Navy, and he feared that bright and tal- examples. And its presence explains, at least government is an oversized and unaccount- ented public officialsmight figure out how to in part, according to Frank, the triumphs of able drag on the economy; they proceeded build boats faster and cheaper than he could. misgovernment to which Americans have to starve agencies of funds and. replace been subjected during the past eight years: public-sector employees with private, for- Jefferson Decker is a Samuel 1. Golieb Fellow the incompetent response to Hurricane profit contractors. The result is a demoral- in Legal History at New York University School Katrina, the failure to plan for the after- ized, hollowed-out state that does not work of Law. math of the Iraq invasion, various scandals very well, except to redistribute weal th from taxpayers to corporate lobbyists and inter- big money can be made from securing meant to serve as a defensive perimeter. ,est groups. "Fantastic misgovernment of the government appropriations, Congressional Battlements are very much in vogue; one kind we have seen is not an accident, nor is campaigns require ever larger war chests, house I sawhad matching his 'n' hers turrets it the work of a few bad individuals," Frank and when legislators rely on lobbyists to on either end." writes. "It is the consequence of triumph write legislation, new industries and inter- According to Frank, these developments by a particular of government, est groups emerge to cash in. have been made possible by the ideological by a movement that understands the lib- Frank catalogs a range of behaviors, once triumph during the past thirty years of "the eral state as a perversion and considers the beyond the pale, that have become common- market" asameans of organizing societyover market the ideal nexus of human society." place in Washington. Companies in the con- its primary competitors-namely tradition, A journalist and cultural critic with a gift tracting'business pay enormous bonuses to organized labor and the state. Believing that for polemical writing, Frank peppers his their employees when they leave for gov- markets are alwaysmore efficient and fairer account of the evolution of antigovernment ernment jobs; in essence keeping staff on . than government, conservatives pushed to governance over the past three decades with retainer even as they formally serve the deregulate the economy and reduce the size observations about life in Washington, from American people. Lobbyists advertise their of the state. When that was not possible, the the sartorial tastes of its lobbyists ("these record securing "earmarked" appropria- right pushed for the next best thing, as they days... orange or lavender" neckties) to the tions-which legislators insert into spend- saw it: handing government over to business absence of mall rats at the underground ing bills with little oversight or independent and letting it regulate itself.This is hardly the assessment of need- same thing. Privatization still requires that on behalf of specific some government officialdole out contracts; Culture warriors on the campaign clients. A prominent business often wants protection or subsidies politician encourages from government, not a cOIp.petitivemarket- ' trail, conservatives follo\"I the Americansto "invest in place. It is, rather, what political scientists~" politics" as they might would call the "capture" of a liberal state by money when they reach office. in stocks or bonds. A corporations and their representatives. Help- universitY president fully, though, faith in the market could jus- shopping center in Arlington's Crystal City whips out a calculator in front of ajournal- tifythis process aswell, sinceit presumed that ("just army officers in camo and executives ist to figure out the "return on investment" the private sector, battle-tested by competi- in suits"). Such entertaining reportage does that his institution received from playing tive markets, would alwaysbe lean, efficient not quite conceal a scattershot approach to the earmark game. In one relatively modest and competent compared with government, history, an irritating prosecutorial tone and deal, lobbyists charged the University of and becauseit elevated risk-taking, entrepre- acartoon portrait ofAmerican conservatism. Alabama $1.5 million for making $123,500 neurial businessmen over those petty, grasp- Still, The Wrecking Crew is a useful introduc- in contributions to Senator Richard Shelby, ing bureaucrats. (The idea that the private tion to a world of pricey lobbyists, crackpot who in turn earmarked $150 millionJor the sector might want to enrich itself at public theorists, bought legislators and hapless university duririg the appropriations process. expensewas conveniently forgotten.) government. And, in part through these The university multiplied its investment As the market triumphed, the idea of very caricatures, the book gets at some es- 100 times over, while the lobbyists earned a competent government or disinterested sential questions about politics and markets 1,100 percent return. Everyone won, ex- judgment waned. And so, Washington em- in a democratic society. cept the taxpayers footing the bill. braces the revolving door between military Marketized government can be ob- contractors and government procurement t its heart, The Wrecking Crew is served in the raw at restaurants like Charlie officesasa positive,since business experience about two long-term developments Palmer Steak, across the street from Con- trumps independence. And anyway, notes in American government. The first stitution Avenue's premier lobbyist hive. Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein, is the rise of entrepreneurial poli- The menu features miniature lobster corn every major contractor takes part in the re- tics-of people figuring out how to dogs-"a nod to the deep-fried treats ofyour volving door, so nobody should get an un- Amake big money from the basic stuff of red-state youth," Frank writes-the decor fair advantage. The Post has also celebrated American civic life.' The second is what an "ostentatious glass 'wine cube' perched the lobbying fortunes that have accumu- Frank calls the "marketization" of govern- on a platform over an indoor pond, like a lated in metro Washington as an example of ment. This includes the privatization of Richard Neutra building in captivity." local enterprise-not the organized bilking government functions by for-profit con- Frank marvels that with such transparency, of taxpayers. Libertarian pun.dit Doug Ban- tractors, from the Blackwater guards doing a "dedicated, score-keeping fan of lobby- dow defends himself for receiving payoffs the jobs of soldiers in Iraq to the faith-based ing, if such a thing exists, could actually from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in charities that were recently supposed to determine which particular vintage was exchange for puffing 'Abramoff's clients in supplant the welfare state. But for Frank, it being uncorked to advance which particu- print. "The number of folks underwriting also includes the broader economy oflobby- lar political cause." The rewards of the the pursuit of pure knowledge can be count- ing, influence peddling, fundraising and fine system are on display in Loudoun County, ed on one hand, if not one finger," he scoffs. dining in which public policy gets made. in northern Virginia, where lobbyists have Of course, the triumph of the market also As Frank argues, these two developments been parking their new wealth. New man- provides electoral rewards. While Americans have a symbiotic relationship. The entre- sions sprout "like brick-colonial mush- like a government that provides clean air, preneurial turn in American politics is sus- rooms" behind "white rail fences of the pure food and a safe workplace, they are tainedby the lucrative business opportunities kind that denote 'horse country.''' As Frank much less fond of bumbling. So voters re- that emerge when private enterprise bores observes, "Every few miles you pass an- ward wrecking crews for their incompetence, its way into functions that had previously other castle going up, sometimes with angrily electing people who will hack the been the exclusive job of the state. When stone posterns so large they a're seemingly state down further. Katha Pollitt Culture War: Out of Juice?

The right seems to have decided that the for rape, incest and serious ir\jury to the woman's health-just culture war, like just about everything else, make sUre you report being raped by your brother immediately and that your doctor is prepared to risk ten years in prison if his sells better if promoted by attractive youthful colleagues think he's erred on the side of keeping you alive. For spokesmoms. Goodbye Pat Buchanan, hello Sarah Palin-and an the true fetal fan, though, Colorado is the place to be: there vot- especially big shout-out to that bright-eyed smiling newcomer ers can choose to declare that human personhood, with all its to the national hate sweeps, Minnesota Representative Michele legal protections, begins with the fertilized egg, putting at risk Bachmann. Bachmann, as you may know, has become a YouTube not only legal hut also emergency contraception, the star, thanks to her interview on Hardball, in which, talking to pill, chemotherapy and other medically necessary procedures, to an incredulous Chris Matthews, she called for the news media say nothing of in vitro fertilization (protecting fertilized eggs, it to ferret out "anti·American" members of Congress. turns out,is moreimportant even than creating a born child). , The stronger Obama gets, the more unhinged the Republi- The old standby, banning gay marriage, is on the ballot in . cans become":""at least, those Repuplicans who haven't already California, Arizona and Florida, even as ill October Connecticut detached ,(Chris Buckley! ColirtPoweil! Charles Kraut- became the third state whose Supreme Court ruled that same- hammer! Peggy Noonan! Kenneth Adelman!)-although to sexers had a right to wed. With twenty-seven states already be' fair, Bachmann has been sending bulletins from Outer having added marriage bans to their constitutions, the day will Wingnuttia for quite a while. In AugUst she mocked soon be upon us when every state with enough horno-' Nancy Pelosi for "global wainring fanaticism .... She phobesto pass a ban will have done so. What will has said that she's just trying to save the planet. We social conservatives do then? Some 35 percent of all know that someone did that over 2,000 years Americims support gay marriage, and that number is ago." Bachmann also claimed that Democrats want on the rise. After all, young people are much more highgas prices in order to force Americans to move tolerant of homosexuality than their elders. And if you to "the inner city." Watch out, Reai America, Dem- leave aside biblical fulminations and lies (like, legal~ ,ocrats wantto turn you into black people! izing same':sex marriage will force schools to teach Many are worned about the way the McCain cam- kindergartners about anal sex), the arguments agaiJ?st paign has revved up the culture war~ is gay matriage are pret;ty feeble. I almost felt sorry for more famous right now than Obama's earlier BFF Paris Hilton, family values think-tanker David Blankenhorn, who argued in to say nothing of Reverend Wright, ACORN aka perpetrator of a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed that gay marriage is wrong "one of the greatest frauds in voter history," secret Muslims, because the universal purpose of marriage throughout history socialism, exotic Hawaii, Joe the Plumber, small towns, the real has been to give children two parents, one of each sex. Where to Virginia and the pro-America parts of the country. (According begin? Single parenting, donor sperm and eggs, blended fami- to McCain, if Obama had only agreed to do ten town hall" lies, the millions of marriages among people who can't, won't ' debates with hiin, rione of this mud would be slung now. It's or don't procreate but who imagi~e their marriages are as valid as ifhe's blaming Obama for his own decision to take the low as that of, say, the superfertile Sarah and Todd Palin. Oh, and road. You leave me no choice, sir" but to lie and slander in a the mounting evidence that children raised by same-sex couples most ridiculous fashion! So much for Republicans standing turn out just fine. There are days Blankenhorn, who describes for self-reliance and responsibility.) Sometimes it does feel himself as a "liberal Democrat," must feel he earnS every dime like McCain, by choosing Sarah Palin, has lifted up a rock and of the many millions his Institute for American Values gets , reve'aled the national id in all its unregenerate glory, seething' trom Bradley, Scaife and other right-wing foundations. with , paranoia, McCarthyiSni, xenophobia and bigotry. On the plus side, Californians can also vote for Proposition 2, And yet this is the country where every poll suggests that which improves conditions for factory-farm animals, and Prop- these appeals to the devils of our nature aren't working their osition 5, which would provide almost a half-billion dollars for mojo. It may have taken the collapse of the global financial drug treatment programs. In general, though, progressives and system to get Americans to elect a black man president, but feminists have been slow to use ballot initiatives to forward our . give the voters a little credit: it could just happen. causes. One bi~ opportunity is coming up in Milwaukee, where Not too much credit, though. The culture war may fail at the a coalition of activists have placed an initiative on the ballot that top of the ticket, but it still has enough juic~ to do damage would give workers nine paid sick days a year. Number legally further down. This year's state ballot initiatives offer numerous mandated now? Zero. Workers risk losing their jobs if they stay opportunities for social conservatives to damage women's health out because of illness or to care for a sick child or parent. This and human rights:' Californians can vote to require parental callous policyJ:llts women hardest, but it's bad for everyone- notification on abortion, a measure they've rejected twice but co-workers, restaurant diners, families. Could the Milwaukee which looks likely to pass this time around. South Dakotans can measure spark a national grassroots movement? Show them, vote to ban abortion entirely, with narrowly tailored exceptions some love by'donating at www.9toS.org. • The far right, out of the shadows

to earn fame and fortune by concoct- ing lies about him. And yes, we should • This year we're witnessing a culture war like we've defend the speech rights even of those rarely seen. Candidate McCain must make a stand. whose views we fmd abhorrent. But the angry McCain-Palin crowds, and particularly those who WASHINGTON· - Are we witness- ly mild compared with the far right ap- threaten violence or shout raCist ep- ing the reemergence of the far right peals that are emerging this year.It is as if ithets, should be a wake-up call to as a power in American politics? Has McCain's loyalists overshot the '60s and McCain. The dark hints about Obama John McCain, inadvertently perhaps, went back to the '50s or even the '30s. that McCain's campaign is dropping become the midwife of a new move- What we are now witnessing is the dovetail too nicely with the nasty ment built around fear, xenophobia, rnainstreaming of the far right, a phe- trash floating around the Internet and racism and anger? IJ.omenon that began to take shape the airwaves. McCain has clearly become uneasy with some of the earliest attacks on We are in the midst of what could with some of the forces that have gath- Bill Clinton in the 1990s. become - and here's hoping it doesn't ered arourid him. He has begun to in- False claims that Obama is a Mus- - the worst economic downturn in sist, against the sometimes loud protests lim or that he trained to overthrow the !decades. The last thing we need is from his crowds, that Barack Obama is, govel1lll1ent or that he was educated in a campaign that strengthens fanati- among things, a "decent person." Wahhabi Muslim schools are a stan- cism, tarnishes the authority of the

Yet McCain's own campaign is play- dard part of the political discussion. ! next president and whips up the worst ing with powerful extremist themes These fake stories come from voices on :kinds of prejudice. This ~orks both to denigrate Obm. When his run- the ultra right that have dabbled in oth- :ways: Obama should not be delegiti- ning mate Sarah Palin fIrst brought up er forms of conspiracy, including clas- ,mized ifhe winsi and McCain should Obama's association with 1960s radical sic anti-Semitism. McCain and his cam- . not want to win in a way that would BillAyers,who has become a centerpiece paign do not pick up the most extreme undermine his own capacity to lead. of McCain's attacks, she accused Obama charges. They just fan the flames by sug- When Christopher Buckley, a nov- of "palling around with terrorists." gesting that voters don't really know elist and former speechwriter for What other "terrorists" was she who Obama is,hinting at a sinister back i George H:W: Bush, aiinounced last thinking about? story without filling in the details. That week that he would vote for Obama Since Obama was a child when Ay- is left to the voters' imaginations. (his first vote ever for a Democrat), ers was part of the Weather Under- The tragic irony here is that he referred to words once spoken to ground, and since even Republicans .McCain was the victim of some of the him by his late father. "You know," the have served on boards with Ayers, very same extremist forces in t.~e2000 conservative hero William F.Buckley this is classic guilt by association. South Carolina primary. !Jr.said, "I've spent my el1tire lifetime Ayers has been dragged into this To bring McCain down, some of separating the right from the kooks." campaign because there is a deep George W. Bush's supporters on the McCain has an obligation, to his frustration on the right with Obama's far right peddled all manner of false- own legacy and the country he has enthusiasm for shutting down the cul- hoods about McCain, raising despica- served, to separate himself and his ture wars of the 1960s. ble charges about his time as a POW campaign from the kooks. Extremism Precisely because Obama is not a and suggesting (again falsely) that he in defense of liberty may be no vice, baby boomer, he carries none of that had fathered an illegitimate child of but extremism in pursuit of the pres- generation's scars. Most Americans color. In the past, McCain publicly idency is as dysfunctional as it is de- (including most boomers) are weary condemned some of the very people grading. of living in the past and reprising the who are now going after Obama. 1960s every four years. McCain cannot be blamed for all of E.1.Dionne's column is distributed by the Yet culture-war politics is relative- the crazies who see in Obama a chance Washington Post Writers Group.