Ryan Streeter
Mitch Daniels’ February 11 speech at CPAC in Washington has received more attention than any political speech given in the past few weeks (with Chris Christie’s AEI speech close behind).
George Will, Peggy Noonan, and Mike Gerson all devoted columns to the Indiana Governor's speech this past week. The attention has also sparked critiques by those who have doubts, such as John McCormack and Jennifer Rubin, who voice concerns on his now-infamous “truce” idea among other issues. Jay Cost, for his part, takes an original historical, and positive, view of the truce.
In general, praise of Daniels has centered on the clarion call he has sounded about America’s coming fiscal catastrophe – and the originality with which he has called his fellow countrymen together to repel it. His own record of fiscal prudence gives him loads of credibility.
The most important line in his speech, however, has only received a few mentions without much discussion. It was when he said:
We must display a heart for every American, and a special passion for those still on the first rung of life’s ladder. Upward mobility from the bottom is the crux of the American promise, and the stagnation of the middle class is in fact becoming a problem, on any fair reading of the facts. Our main task is not to see that people of great wealth add to it, but that those without much money have a greater chance to earn some.
Now, he didn’t use the speech to advance any specific policies in this regard, but the statement itself was signficant for a number of reasons.
- He set himself apart from other Republicans. Let’s face it, “upward mobility” and “middle class stagnation” are expressions you don’t hear from aspiring GOP presidential candidates. Only Tim Pawlenty has sounded comfortable on these themes. Daniels was making clear that all our efforts to repair our fiscally damaged nation are for the sake of those who have the most to gain in America. Our efforts are not in the service of our ideology or principles for their own sakes, but for real people with real aspirations. Overcoming very real barriers that millions of middle Americans face is a job facing the next President whether he or she recognizes it now. Daniels recognizes it.
- He was speaking to the “leave us alone” CPAC crowd. The overriding theme of CPAC had been on reversing the encroachment of the state, cutting spending, and the like. And rightly so. These are also themes that Daniels heartily agrees with. But they are insufficient as a governing philosophy. Just as he used his speech to clarify that ideological purity should not lead us to a point at which we stand on the wreckage of an economy yelling "I told you so," he used the speech to clarify that all of our efforts are for the sake of opportunity, hope, the future - especially for those less fortunate. This was not at all a common theme at a conference that has become a haven for ideological purists, especially of the "leave us alone" variety. Daniels' challenge was to embrace a conservatism that thinks beyond shrinking the state as its only noble goal.
- Daniels is hitting on a very real problem that Republicans ignore at their peril. Joel Kotkin made this point here at ConservativeHome when he said: “The issue of class is one Americans do not like to face. But it is increasingly evident that this, more than race, will determine the political future.” Republicans steer clear of this theme because of a perennial dislike of “class warfare,” but it’s not class warfare that’s the issue. It’s that a large segment of Americans have for more than a decade now not not enjoying the kinds of upward mobility gains (increases in income and quality of life) that are associated with America itself. Republicans have not thought this through very well, and they ignore middle America at their peril. Daniels seems to understand this.
- He speaks from experience. One aspect of the Daniels administration that hasn’t gotten much attention as his other reforms is the central mission that all of his staffers and state officials can recite: raising the disposable income of Hoosiers. Now, Indiana still has a long way to go on this front, but the point is that all of the cost-cutting, tough fiscal management, and other virtues for which he has been praised have – from the beginning – been centered on this theme. Reducing the burden of the state is important because of how it frees up the private sector for greater productivity and returns tax dollars into the pockets of the citizenry.
Conservatives have ideas that can help us confront middle class stagnation and revive the sense of opportunity for those on “the first rung of life’s ladder.” But, first, they need to get comfortable talking about this again.
Daniels reminds Republicans that they are not the party of the rich, not just the “leave us alone” crowd, and not even limited government supporters for the sake of merely adhering to the ideal itself. Our founders believed in limited government as essential for liberty, and liberty was essential for happiness. And happiness depends in large measure on believing our efforts will find reward, that hard work can make tomorrow better than today, and that our children can inherit a better life than we had.
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