In a bullfight, before the matador arrives, there are men on horseback called picadores who harass the bull and stick spears into the back of its neck. The spears serve two purposes. They weaken the bull, and they make it impossible for the bull to lift its head.Then the matador arrives, complete with a flashy cape. The flash is for show; the bull can't see color. But the cape serves a vital purpose. By waving it around, the matador causes the bull to go after the cape, rather than attacking the matador himself. Eventually, the bull wears itself out chasing after the cape, and it is easy for the matador to kill it.
Today, Democrats and progressive organizations around the country are spending a lot of time and energy attacking George W. Bush's Social Security privatization idea. But what if this supposed "proposal", with all the fanfare it's getting, is no more than the cape designed to distract us from the real work the Repubican right wing is doing?
What if the last four years, complete with picadores like Karl Rove, Condi Rice, John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge on one side, and Bill Frist, Ted Stevens, Mitch McConnell, Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay on the other side, the Bush team and their Republican allies have been sticking spears with such misleading labels as "war on terror", "tax relief" and "no child left behind" into us?
What if, with our attention on the cape of privatization, we fail to notice that they're opening up drilling in ANWR, appointing a one-man international hate machine to the United Nations, locking in half-trillion dollar deficits, cutting spending on education and health care, increasing mercury poisoning, and generally taking those steps right-wing extremists would take to hurt America if given the opportunity?
And then, what if the coup de grace is what happens after the privatization plan falls apart? What if they put George W. Bush on television to call the Democrats obstructionists (assuming he can pronounce the word)? What if he says that he has always been open to suggestion, but that no Democrat has seriously suggested anything? What if the news is all about how the Republicans are busy getting things done, while the Democrats are busy trying to stop things from getting done?
And what if this becomes the issue when elections roll around next year? Of the 32 Senate seats up for election, 17 are held by Democrats, and one more is held by Jim Jeffords, the independent who left the Republican party four years ago. If the Republicans can pick up just five of those 18 seats, the party's over. They can stop any filibuster they want, and pass any legislation their right-wing hearts desire.
We have to stop fooling ourselves into thinking that Social Security privatization is the Republicans' number one objective. We have to understand that they have both a large short-term agenda and a clear long-term agenda. And we have to respond less like a wounded bull and more like freedom-loving, forward-thinking Americans.
We have to stop charging after the cape.
Copyright 2005, Dan Jacoby
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