John Davis Consulting

Post: October 10, 2011       Vol. IV, No. 27

“To compromise one’s principles of right/wrong for the sake of getting something done will only lead us to where we are today: a country and a society of mediocrity.”

Undisclosed NC Republican legislator, September 28, 2011

1964 GOP Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater Lost 61.1% to 38.5%

After my report two weeks ago titled, “Compromise” or “Stick to Beliefs” Study Explains NJ Gov. Chris Christie Can Defeat President Barack Obama, I received the following emailed comment from a Republican member of the legislature … a friend with sensible views I have long admired:

“To compromise one’s principles of right/wrong for the sake of getting something done will only lead us to where we are today: a country and a society of mediocrity.  We must continue our struggle in the pursuit of excellence and return to the fundamental principles upon which American greatness was built upon.  Compromise is not the answer.”

I immediately thought about the 1964 GOP nominee for President Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Arizona, and his famous battle cry, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!”

Extremism in the defense of liberty cost the GOP the White House in 1964, and extremism in the defense of uncompromising economic conservatism during the worst recession since the Great Depression will cost the GOP the White House in 2012.  It is simply politically inept.

However, it cuts both ways.

Uncompromising liberal economic extremists (Democrats and Republicans) got this country into the crisis we all face today.  For decades, in Washington D.C. and in Raleigh, N.C., liberals have refused to be restrained by the economic caution of conservatives when it comes to government spending.

The unwillingness of liberals to compromise is the reason our country got into this crisis, and the unwillingness of conservatives to compromise is the reason we can’t get out of this crisis.

24,845,594 Reasons Conservative Economic Extremism will Cost the GOP

Take a look at today’s US Debt Clock, a real-time accounting of our nation’s finances, and you will see that “Actual Unemployed” in the United States is 24,845,594.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines “Actual Unemployed” as the total unemployed, added to all marginally attached workers, plus those working part time but want to work full time.

In my report “Compromise” or “Stick to Beliefs” Study Explains Why NJ Gov. Chris Christie Can Defeat President Barack Obama, I wrote about a Gallup survey released Monday, Sept. 26, that shows that Americans strongly prefer leaders who will compromise to stimulate the economy and jobs growth.

1. It’s more important to “compromise” in order to get things done say 51% of Americans, as compared to only 28% who say “Stick to beliefs” even if little gets done.  The remaining 21% are neutral.
2. Republicans are evenly split: 37% “Stick to beliefs;” 36% “Compromise.”  Neutral: 27%.
3. Democrats are overwhelmingly for “Compromise” (62%) in order to get things done in Washington compared to only 20% who say “Stick to beliefs” even if little gets done.  Neutral: 18%.
4. By almost 2-to-1, Independents say it’s “more important to compromise” in order to get things done (52%) than it is to “stick to beliefs” even if little gets done (27%).

Voters want jobs and job security, not ideological defiance.  Voters want a bipartisan long-range plan for dealing with the nation’s debt and deficit crisis, not economic Puritanism.

Don’t Tell Mama I’m a Member of the U.S. Congress, She Thinks I’m a Lobbyist

There is an old joke passed down for many generations in political circles that goes like this: “Don’t tell mama I’m a lobbyist, she thinks I’m a piano player at a house of ill repute.”  Well, in today’s hostile political environment that joke could easily be rewritten: “Don’t tell mama I’m a member of the U.S. Congress, she thinks I’m a lobbyist.”

A new national survey by Gallup released Today, Wednesday, October 12, 2011 reveals that the U.S. Congress is “on track to register its lowest annual average approval rating for any year since Gallup began measuring congressional approval in 1974.”

• Only 13% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job.
• Republicans' and Democrats' approval of Congress is identical, at 14%, similar to the 13% among independents.
• Comparison: President Obama’s job approval is 41% today, October 12, 2011

NOTE for Clarification:  When pollsters measure the job approval of the U.S. Congress, they are referring to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Many in the GOP seem to miss the fact that the 47 Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the 240 Republican members of the U.S. House are included in the historic high dissatisfaction with Congress.  Republicans have 287 of the 535 members of Congress, or 54%.

If 81% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, that includes most Republicans in America disapproving of the job the Republicans in Congress are doing.

Economic Extremism will cost the GOP dearly in 2012 … but there is a win-win

Republicans are in trouble with American voters because they have allowed the most conservative among them to put “sticking to beliefs even if little gets done” ahead of “compromising in order to get things done.”

Voters want jobs and economic stability, not ideological defiance.  Voters want a bipartisan long-range plan for dealing with the nation’s debt and deficit crisis, not economic Puritanism.

So, to my Republican friend with a history of sensible views while serving in the legislature who wrote me that “Compromise is not the answer,” please remember that in 1964, Barry Goldwater received only 38.5% of the votes to 61.1% for President Lyndon Johnson.  Goldwater carried 6 states out of 50 (AZ, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC), and only 52 electoral votes compared to 486 for Johnson.

Still not willing to compromise?  OK, there is a way out without having to compromise … collaborate.  At least be willing to collaborate.  It’s your best hope of ending the worst recession since the Great Depression, jump-starting jobs growth, and restoring confidence with a long-range plan for stability.

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Thank you for reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

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