SChip, National GOP, Monroe County GOP
Bowers over at OpenLeft poses this very good question about the SChip vote today:
How could 154 Republicans ignore the will of 80% of the electorate?
…and turns to the Iron Law Of Institutions for an answer:
The Iron Law of Institutions is: the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself. Thus, they would rather the institution “fail” while they remain in power within the institution than for the institution to “succeed” if that requires them to lose power within the institution.
This is true for all human institutions, from elementary schools up to the United States of America. If history shows anything, it’s that this cannot be changed. What can be done, sometimes, is to force the people running institutions to align their own interests with those of the institution itself and its members.
Well, that’s depressing. But, if we’re calling ourselves part of the “Reality-Based Community”, we gotta face facts. So, what does that Law mean in terms of how folks like Kuhl and Reynolds voted?
Even in the worst case electoral scenario for House Republicans, only about 15% of the 185 or so of them who are running for re-election in 2008 will lose. By way of contrast, spurning the movement institutions, bucking the party line, and angering corporate PACs has about a 100% chance of resulting in less power within the congressional caucus and conservative politics in general.
So how do we get to Kuhl & Reynolds?
Unless you have power within the Republican congressional caucus or conservative movement institutions, there just isn’t anyway to pressure Republicans to change their minds on anything. No matter what Barack Obama thinks, there is no way to meaningfully “reach out” anymore. The only solutions are to remove as many Republicans from federal office as possible, and to lessen the power of conservative movement institutions themselves. Anything else is either irrelevant, futile, or both. They just don’t care what the public thinks, because the public is not who they answer to. And don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
This is the very same reason we have a GOP Lockstep Legislature in the county building. Because the legislators know that even if they’re unpopular enough with voters to lose, as long as they’re popular with Minarik & crew, they know they always have a seat at the table through some county position. But if they mess with Minarik, they’re toast.
Related posts:
Today’s Paul Krugman column in the New York Times offers some optimistic and cautionary thoughts, which dovetail with what you describe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/opinion/19krugman.html?_r=1&n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Columnists/Paul%20Krugman&oref=slogin