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Jewish World Review May 30, 2001 / 8 Sivan, 5761
Michael Ledeen
A long-time professional politician
doesn't switch parties just because he's miffed by Republican
rudeness; he's seen the Democrats refuse elementary
courtesies to Strom Thurmond, quite clearly because they
hope to wear him down and add to their body count. He's
not performing this astonishing favor because he expects to
be treated with tender loving care. He's taking a risk, and
rather a big risk at that. He will lose most of his staff, who
spent hours begging him not to betray the trust of his voters
and his associates. And he surely knows that defectors are
usually treated with suspicion, if not contempt. If you've done
it once, you can do it again, so who can trust you?
One might argue, as many no doubt will, that Jeffords is doing
it "out of conviction," but there are two answers to that: He's
known for years that he was a square liberal peg in a round
Republican party hole, so if he felt so strongly about it he
would have moved long since. Second, there is no sudden,
fundamental disagreement between Jeffords and the
Republican party. No, the motives are neither personal nor
ideological, they are political. He believes he will obtain a
large net gain from this operation, and he may well be right.
He will certainly be rewarded by the Democrats, and the
Republicans, well, the Republicans are not known for their
sharp teeth and slashing claws.
Despite being routinely battered and humiliated by the
Democrats, the Republicans seem bound and determined to
conduct their political business in accordance with the
religious instruction "turn the other cheek." This sort of
feel-good silliness led Machiavelli to reflect that Christianity is
a great thing, provided it's the right sort of Christianity,
namely the sort that kills heretics and marches on infidels, not
the sort that files into church to listen to sermons about
forgiving enemies and turning other cheeks, and certainly not
the sort that finds martyrdom attractive.
This administration and its congressional allies have not only
been maddeningly slow in getting their nominees in place, but
they have left the bulk of the government's apparatus in the
hands of Clinton appointees. Scores of high-level Clintonians
remain just where they were before Inauguration Day. In
some cases, as for example the Department of State, that is
largely because the new secretary wants it that way, believing
that "professionals" will carry out the president's mission as
effectively as people who are chosen by him and serve at his
pleasure. In other cases, as for example the Pentagon, it is
largely because Democrats in the Senate have slowed down
the tempo of confirmation to record lows, perhaps because
they knew Jeffords's move was coming. Whatever the
explanation, the Republicans have left some of their finest
people totally exposed to Democrats' slanders, and they do
not seem inclined to take effective action. George W. Bush
may well owe his office to Ted Olson's brilliance and energy,
yet I haven't heard a single word from the White House
denouncing the lies directed at him by Democrats on the
Judiciary Committee.
If W. had routinely called for the resignation of all political
appointees from the previous administration, he would have
served notice that he was serious about governing, and
understood that power equals personnel. By failing to act
seriously, he invited further challenge, and the Democrats
eagerly responded by pouncing on his nominees with their
well-honed methods of personal destruction. Now he's in a
real jam. If he thought it was hard getting his team in place
with Democrats in the minority, just wait until he sends his
nominees to face Democratic committee chairmen.
It's admirable to preach sweet reason, but it's not good
enough for a leader, who must answer Machiavelli's basic
question: Is it better to be loved or feared? Love does work
some times, but it's tenuous; fear works every time.
Anybody out there afraid of the Republicans? Certainly not
Jim
05/09/01: The bad guys to the rescue
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