Sweet, sweet failure

Over at his wonderful blog, Steve Sailer frequently discusses the importance of The Narrative.  Essentially, the media settles on a single interpretation of a story.  All reactions to it must accede to this frame.  The Internet provides a partial exception to this, but one which is not important insofar as the gatekeepers--or, rather, myth makers--are concerned, at least at this juncture.

For instance, when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration, we are bombarded by insistence that the "system is broken."  In order to fix this "broken system", we need "comprehensive immigration reform."  Since illegal immigrants, are, by definition thwarting the law, a sensible person might wonder what obstacle prevents the laws from being enforced.  Further, one may ask why we would expect these new laws to be upheld when the current ones are routinely disregarded.

The Narrative is designed to preclude anyone from raising these quite reasonable objections.  Far from trying to frame a debate between two sides positing different approaches towards the national question, the issue has been framed in such a way that only one approach can be seen as possible.  Once the idiot Americans realize the wisdom of the elites, the latter can get around to achieving the real goal: passing a bill to ensure more Democratic voters and cheaper labor for Republican businessmen. 

I am not a Republican, but if I were to offer them advice, it would be to convince them of the importance of understanding the Narrative.  In their typical, bungling way, the Republicans have "shut down the government."  This is a myth, given that most of Leviathan plods steadily along, and those parts which have been furloughed will almost assuredly be paid back, for work not done, once the "shutdown" ceases. 

So, who is to blame for the shutdown?  The Republicans have pointed the finger at the Democrats, who have returned the gesture in kind.  No surprises there.  Yet this is the wrong question to ask since the matter at hand is not one based on any objective criteria.

If this seems cynical and relativistic, bear with me for a moment.  First, considered factually, both parties are responsible so long as a deal remains undone.  Until a "compromise" is reached, it is entirely fair to place blame on any one--or both--of the parties.

Moreover, we are a representative republic.  Elections are decided by the whims of the citizenry; it is to them that appeal must be made.  Any decisions reached by the people are, by nature, subjective.

Hence the importance of Narrative.  In short order, the Republicans will cave, as they always do.  However, next time they decide to make a futile gesture, if they wish to break with history and accomplish something for a change, it is imperative that they agree on a Narrative, but also that the Narrative frames their option as the only reasonable solution to the problem at hand.

When it comes to Obamacare, they should have noted that the piece of legislation was such an obvious boondoggle, that it was nowhere near ready, and therefore, they should have offered to postpone the implementation for another year.  Actually, they did this, but when it was rejected, they ought to have immediately passed a budget funding it to the hilt.

Having stated their objections, Obama would then be forced to explain to the American people why his signature piece of legislation was such a train wreck.  Then, the Republicans could campaign against a failure; this, coupled with a real reform bill--and no, they don't actually have one, which is a big problem, but this is mostly hypothetical--would posit a substantial weapon in the upcoming election.

When it comes to the debt ceiling, so long as the Republican house refuses to pass a balanced budget, that is, one that does not require us to borrow any more money and therefore breach the debt ceiling, all objections are mere bluster.  If they can produce such a budget, then they point out that while Obama is content to bankrupt the nation's children so that he can avoid tough decisions, in the house, adults are ready to make hard decisions. 

The only problem with this approach is that there are no adults in the Republican house.  Which is why a balanced budget will never be passed, the debt ceiling will again be raised, Obamacare will become the settled law of the land, and the GOP will take it on the chin without having accomplished a single thing.