"TONIGHT is the night we get to celebrate," gushed Democratic insider Sam Rosario to local reporters Tuesday night. The feeling of euphoria among Democrats around the country has been palpable as they took control of both houses of Congress and watched Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld relieved of a job. But, quite frankly, it wasn't that hard. According to The Economist, President Bush's approval rating was below 40 percent and Congress's under 30. Two out of every five voters described themselves as "angry" at the administration, opposition to the Iraq war was as high as ever, and 60 percent of Americans thought the economy was getting worse despite low unemployment not to mention Republicans' ethics troubles. The Democrats' highly sophisticated campaign tactics involved comparing Republican candidates to President Bush: He appeared in 72 Democratic congressional candidates' ads.
But winning isn't enough. As Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said to The New York Times, "We have to get things done for the American people." But what have the Democrats got up their sleeve? They have largely defined their long stay in opposition by simply opposing whatever the Republicans said, not advancing new ideas. Despite criticizing the failures of the Iraq War to appeal to voters, the Democrats have failed to offer a workable solution. With control of Congress, Democrats may well get a chunk of their domestic agenda forced through; but Harry Truman reminded us that Congress rarely gets the last say when he wrote "The buck stops here" on a placard in the Oval Office.
On Wednesday evening, the Associated Press declared Jim Webb the victor of the Virginia Senate race and within minutes, stocks plunged. Congresswoman and soon to be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's, D-Calif., domestic agenda for Democrats might explain why. She has talked repeatedly about raising the minimum wage, "negotiating" drug prices with pharmaceuticals, and raising taxes. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who will become the nation's top taxwriter as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told The Wall Street Journal that "ending tax shelters for companies that move American jobs overseas" is one of his top priorities. So the self-proclaimed party of social justice wants to make the poor poorer.
A raise to the federal minimum wage will either have no effect (most state minimum wages are already higher) or increase unemployment for the least skilled. In 1995 the Joint Economic Committee of Congress concluded that the minimum wage "hurts the unskilled, low-wage workers, Blacks, and the poor." Low-skill workers will find their jobs replaced by machinery or outsourced to third-world countries as firms struggle to stay afloat with increasing labor costs. Instead of facing up this reality, Democrats seek to slap more taxes on firms that outsource. Apparently they think they know better than the market what firms ought to do and how they should do it. As a Democratic Congress blocks trade deals, Americans will watch their costs of living rise since it will cost more to import and even more jobs disappear since foreigners will buy fewer U.S. exports. Companies won't even be able to hire top management talent as Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the expected new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told The Wall Street Journal he intends to hold hearings on executive pay and move forward a bill on the issue.
It gets worse. If Democrats actually succeed in forcing pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices, then that leaves less money for research and development. Moreover, rolling back the Bush tax cuts will hurt the Americans who actually save and invest their money leaving even less money for developing new, life-saving medicines. As James Meehan, an economics professor at Colby College, concluded, "Drug price controls
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