The classic earmark, so to speak, of the classic Washington weenie is the pleasure one gets in seeing David Broder fall on his self-important ass. It’s an odd sort of pleasure, because Broder himself never feels the impact. For an old Washington hand like Dave, error isn’t a cause for embarrassment. Rather, it’s an opportunity to change the subject.
The latest silent thud from Dave is his Sunday Wash Post column, “Addressing the States’ Dire Straits,” on the need for the federal government to bail out the states. The gag (trust me, there is one), is that, as all Davophiles know, it is Broder’s constant mantra that it is governors who have to make the tough decisions. Unlike senators and presidents, they can’t go over budget. They can’t print money. They’ve got to meet that bottom line every day.
So why are these red pencil, green eyeshade dudes all coming to DC cap in hand? Well, Dave doesn’t say.
Afterwords
The greatest offender is, of course, California, whose voters, sick of big government Democrat Gray Davis, voted him out in an historic recall and voted in Friedmanesque Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Arnold actually tried to cut government spending, he realized he was cutting off his own balls, and quickly discontinued the activity.
