Now that the election is over, it is time to evaluate what the American
public can expect from the 111th Congress and the incoming Presidency.
There are several major issues, some mentioned before in this column,
which the liberal leadership may seek to enact into law and which
moderate Democrats and Republicans as well as conservatives must resist
for the greater good of the country.
An elementary issue is the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine
would require equal air time for differing political opinions. Because
talk radio is dominated by conservative commentators, who, in a free
market place, have proven to be the only viable broadcasters from an
economic standpoint, the Fairness Doctrine essentially would end
conservative talk radio. Liberals have been unable to make headway on
the radio, so the only way they will have access to the commercial radio
airwaves will be to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine.
Businesses and workers should be frightened by the prospect of enactment
of the Employee Free Choice Act, sometimes called Card Check, which in
union votes would end the secret ballot, something Americans hold dear
and something that is necessary for a healthy democracy. This would
greatly strengthen labor unions, a core constituency of leftist
politicians, and would hurt the freedom of employees who oppose unions
and may be subject to intimidation.
Expect an aggressive push to nationalize healthcare and erode private
healthcare coverage. In spite of a poor economy, here and abroad, and
the expense of a national healthcare program, Congress probably will try
to make significant inroads in this area. And remember that once a
massive Federal bureaucracy is created it is notoriously difficult to
eliminate, as is obvious from the failed efforts to eliminate the
unnecessary Department of Education.
In order to pay for this new spending the next Administration is likely
to seek to raise taxes significantly. This may include massive
increases in the death tax, the capital gains tax, income taxes and
corporate taxes, among others. Such increases would cripple our
economy, diminish growth, make goods and services much more expensive,
and reduce Americans to a lower standard of living.
Economically we also will suffer if the majority tries to re-impose bans
on drilling for oil and natural gas off the coasts. We are sitting on a
wealth of energy resources which could help make us more
energy-independent and allow us to stop sending American dollars to
tyrants who hate us and oppress their own people. If Congress and the
new President were to re-impose this ban it would set us back decades in
the realm of energy. The election also decreases our prospects for
building nuclear power plants.
In the area of foreign relations it is difficult to predict how the new
Congress and President will handle the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
though the consequences of an unsuccessful retreat would be staggering
for our national security interests at home and abroad. Authoritarians
in Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and other countries hate us.
Any sign of weakness would give them the upper hand in foreign relations
and allow them to dictate the dialogue. It may be more important than
ever for us to cooperate with governments which are pro-American or
reasonably so.
We also should be vigilant about our border security and illegal
immigration, particularly as violence in Mexico and along our Southern
Border increases as drug cartels battle for control. And, as this
column mentioned on Tuesday, we must reevaluate the efficiency and
practicality of our foreign aid. Congress may try to increase this to
unprecedented levels while substantially cutting the funding for our
military. We can afford neither, for a variety of economic and
non-economic reasons.
The independence and Constitutional role of the Federal Judiciary could
be in jeopardy, perhaps the greatest long-term risk of all. Imagine an
extensive number of Supreme Court Justices and other Federal Judges who
exercise a fluid, amorphous view of the Constitution, treating it as a
flexible paper upon which new interpretations can be imposed and in
which new rights can be found.