Won't Be Fooled Again James A. Davids J.D. Duke University School of Law President-Elect, Christian Legal Society Assistant Dean, Robertson School of Government, Regent University November 20 , 2006

As the House Republicans fade into minority status again, their new leader rekindled the light that led them out of that same wilderness 12 years ago.  Congressman John Boehner, in accepting his party’s role as future Minority Leader, vowed to “earn our way back into the majority” by fighting “for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government.”  Republican faithful faintly recall last hearing such rhetoric more than a decade ago.
A Republican platform seeking a “smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government” is a serious break from recent precedent.  Since Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress in 1994, federal spending has jumped 63 percent, well beyond the12-year inflationary rise of 28 percent.  Since enjoying the political “trifecta” of both houses of Congress plus the presidency in 2002, federal spending has increased 23 percent, more than twice the inflation rate of 11 percent over the same time period.  Although an expensive foreign war and homeland defense have certainly increased federal spending, we have not seen much belt tightening elsewhere.
We Republican faithful shudder at the prospects of federal spending now that the Democrats have returned to majority status in both houses.  The Democrats did not campaign for a “smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government,” and the public will soon hear again the importance of “investing” in national ventures.  Although the Democrats have claimed an interest in reducing the federal deficit, cutting spending is the Democrats’ least favorite method to achieve this laudable goal. Their solution will inevitably be higher taxes.  In the near future, we may soon see whether President Bush has inherited the “read my lips” gene.
Given the fissures in the Democratic Party, we suspect that little will be accomplished in the next Congress other than the Democrats now shoveling money to their constituency (expect the smell of bacon to waft regularly from the nation’s capitol).  Since the last election again proved that pork barrel spending does not ensure electoral success, we suspect that the voting public will soon tire of the Democrats, giving another electoral opening to the Republicans.
Whether the Republicans can again achieve majority status will depend, at least in part, on whether voters can trust the Republicans to achieve Congressman Boehner’s proclaimed goal of a smaller federal government.   A “smaller” federal government means, of course, spending cuts, and Republicans have a tendency of wilting when Democrats claim how reducing federal programs hurts the poor and needy.  One group certainly affected by spending cuts is federal workers, but they do not fit under the “poor and needy” category.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the wages and benefits of an average federal civilian worker ($106,579) is exactly double the average compensation in the private market ($53, 289). (Are federal bureaucrats twice as productive as private workers, or is there inequity here?).
A good first step in controlling federal spending is simply capping it to the rate of inflation.  Since the Consumer Price Index showed an increase of 3.4 percent in 2005, Congress should be limited to increasing federal spending by only that amount, rather than the rate of 7.4 percent in the FY2006 budget.  Pegging spending increases to the rate of inflation will result in spending less money than Congress wants to spend, and will result in an “either/or” approach to spending rather than an “and/also” approach.  Perhaps dusting off the Reagan-era “Just Say No” slogan and adapting it to runaway spending is a first step.
We Republican faithful know the weakness of those elected to Congress. We, therefore, want to see structural changes to guarantee that Republicans, if returned to power in Congress, will adopt the policies and budgets necessary to secure a “smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government.”  Limiting an increase in spending to inflation is but one approach.  We will need several more. 
An old saying is, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”  Concrete, effective structural changes to keep Republican hands out of taxpayers’ pockets will restore them to a majority again.  We won’t be fooled again.

About the Author:
James A. Davids is assistant dean for the Robertson School of Government at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. He earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Regent University was founded in 1978 and soon became the nation’s premier Christian graduate university. Today Regent students earn bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in the fields of business, communication, divinity, education, government, law, leadership studies, and psychology and counseling.