Scolding Americans
© Frank Monaldo
``To tax and to please, no more than to love and to be wise, is not given to men.'' — Edmund Burke, Speech on American Taxation, 1774.
``Taxes are the sinews of the state.'' — Cicero.''
``I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money.'' — Arthur Godfrey.
In the United States it is possible for an aspiring politician to win an election by arguing that urgent needs require more taxes. It is possible to win an election by happily suggesting that people should be allowed to retain more of their own resources, i.e., be given a tax cut. It is possible to win an election by invoking what Lincoln called the "better angels of our nature.'' It is even possible to win an election by pointing to the greedy rich as the source of problems and whipping up a frenzy to punish their greed through higher taxes. However, it is not generally possible to achieve leadership over the electorate by insulting it.
President Clinton usually has unerring political instincts, with an ear finely tuned the mood of the public. Even his most vociferous detractors admire his ability to parrot what he believes the people want to hear. That is what makes Clinton's remarks in the recent Virginia gubernatorial elections so uncharacteristically impolitic.
Republican James S. Gilmore III was running against Democrat Donald S. Beyer. The election had appeared close until the final weeks when Gilmore raced ahead to a seven to 10 per cent lead on the promise of eliminating the uniformly despised car tax. Beyer attempted to respond by alternatively arguing that the tax cut was not really that big and the tax cut would destroy public education in the state. In coming to support a fellow Democrats, Clinton could have focused solely on the need for the tax. Instead he gratuitously asserted that
"This is really a question about whether Virginians will be selfish in the moment or selfless for their children and their future.''
The voters responded to the rebuke by electing Republican Gilmore by a margin of 14 per cent.
This is a clear example not only of a political tin ear on Clinton's part — an uncommon situation — but the consequences of a dearth of moral leadership. If Mother Teresa called you selfish, you might be chastened. If former President Jimmy Carter urged you to pitch in and help your neighbor, people would listen.
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