Saturday, July 22, 2006
How to define a conservative
One writer has argued in print that conservatives have one belief in common: they believe in small government. Another writer challenges that assumption by pointing out actions of conservative American administrations that led to larger, not smaller government. Supporters of the present Bush administration include persons who believe in lower taxes, smaller bureaucracy, and fewer regulations and laws. Other supporters believe in an increased military department, with more money spent on exotic weapons, more men in uniform, and more use of the military to solve problems of interest to the United States. Clearly a fundamental belief in small government is not something these different groups have in common.
I have an opinion. I believe that conservatives share a certain moral outlook on society. They tend to make policy decisions based on the morality of the decisions rather than the effects of them. Big powerful governments tend to become arbitrary, tyrannical, abusive, corrupt, and unaccountable. Hence, governments should be made smaller and weaker. The United States is a moral nation. The motives of Americans are always moral and good. In disputes with other nations, our moral intentions should always prevail and it is only right that we should use our military might to enforce our moral purposes when necessary.
I can go on with other examples of how belief in their own moral virtue justifies many policies advocated by conservatives. I intend to concentrate on one of those policies; namely, public policy toward labor unions.
This morning (Saturday, July 22) the Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times carries an article by Nelson Lichtenstein, UPENDING THE HOUSE OF LABOR. In the article, Professor Lichtenstein discusses a case before the National Labor Relations Board involving an attempt by a union “to represent nurses and other healthcare workers at a Kentucky nursing home.” The attempt started during the Clinton Administration. In those days, the NLRB ruled that nurses and other healthcare workers were eligible for union representation. The nursing home operators argued that the nurses and other healthcare workers were professionals and were exempted from union representation, just as supervisors in a manufacturing plant are exempt.
The case was appealed and eventually found its way to the Supreme Court. Although nurses and other professional workers do not exercise supervisory control over other workers in the way that plant supervisors do, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, found no “distinction between the independent judgment of professionals acting as professionals rather than as supervisors.” Based on this decision, the NLRB may well decide the case in Kentucky in favor of the operators and not the nurses and other professional workers.
We see here an example of creeping conservatism. The Bush administration is systematically placing conservatives in positions of power in government, both in the courts and in the bureaucracy. One result is a decision that restricts the ability of labor unions to represent the interests of workers who have some specialized education and training. If this process continues, unions will ultimately only be able legally to represent those workers of no education who perform repetitive work that requires no judgment, just obedience to a supervisor and following a set routine. Gone will be the days when airplane pilots and baseball players can be represented by labor unions.
This story illustrates another belief that conservatives share. They despise labor unions. They are very clever at thinking up ways to diminish the power and influence of organized labor in our society. If they can reduce labor unions to the role of representing only the least educated and least skilled workers, they will have destroyed a component of the liberal political coalition in this country. It will be easier then to enact other parts of the conservative vision: no social security; no universal health care or health insurance; no public welfare benefits for the poor or unemployed.
This conservative revolution has gone too far. It’s time to stop it. A way to begin is to replace several conservative Republicans with liberal Democratic Representatives and Senators. With Democratic control of Congress, particularly the Senate, our ultra conservative President will be unable to continue his policy of packing the courts and the various regulatory agencies with his ultra conservative allies.
Let’s go!
I have an opinion. I believe that conservatives share a certain moral outlook on society. They tend to make policy decisions based on the morality of the decisions rather than the effects of them. Big powerful governments tend to become arbitrary, tyrannical, abusive, corrupt, and unaccountable. Hence, governments should be made smaller and weaker. The United States is a moral nation. The motives of Americans are always moral and good. In disputes with other nations, our moral intentions should always prevail and it is only right that we should use our military might to enforce our moral purposes when necessary.
I can go on with other examples of how belief in their own moral virtue justifies many policies advocated by conservatives. I intend to concentrate on one of those policies; namely, public policy toward labor unions.
This morning (Saturday, July 22) the Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times carries an article by Nelson Lichtenstein, UPENDING THE HOUSE OF LABOR. In the article, Professor Lichtenstein discusses a case before the National Labor Relations Board involving an attempt by a union “to represent nurses and other healthcare workers at a Kentucky nursing home.” The attempt started during the Clinton Administration. In those days, the NLRB ruled that nurses and other healthcare workers were eligible for union representation. The nursing home operators argued that the nurses and other healthcare workers were professionals and were exempted from union representation, just as supervisors in a manufacturing plant are exempt.
The case was appealed and eventually found its way to the Supreme Court. Although nurses and other professional workers do not exercise supervisory control over other workers in the way that plant supervisors do, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, found no “distinction between the independent judgment of professionals acting as professionals rather than as supervisors.” Based on this decision, the NLRB may well decide the case in Kentucky in favor of the operators and not the nurses and other professional workers.
We see here an example of creeping conservatism. The Bush administration is systematically placing conservatives in positions of power in government, both in the courts and in the bureaucracy. One result is a decision that restricts the ability of labor unions to represent the interests of workers who have some specialized education and training. If this process continues, unions will ultimately only be able legally to represent those workers of no education who perform repetitive work that requires no judgment, just obedience to a supervisor and following a set routine. Gone will be the days when airplane pilots and baseball players can be represented by labor unions.
This story illustrates another belief that conservatives share. They despise labor unions. They are very clever at thinking up ways to diminish the power and influence of organized labor in our society. If they can reduce labor unions to the role of representing only the least educated and least skilled workers, they will have destroyed a component of the liberal political coalition in this country. It will be easier then to enact other parts of the conservative vision: no social security; no universal health care or health insurance; no public welfare benefits for the poor or unemployed.
This conservative revolution has gone too far. It’s time to stop it. A way to begin is to replace several conservative Republicans with liberal Democratic Representatives and Senators. With Democratic control of Congress, particularly the Senate, our ultra conservative President will be unable to continue his policy of packing the courts and the various regulatory agencies with his ultra conservative allies.
Let’s go!
