https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/08/07/three-cheers-for-the-establishment/It has become fashionable if not mandatory in conservative circles to decry the “Establishment” or “Insiders,” although many who are complaining have been inside the Beltway so long that they’ve become more isolated from “real” Americans than the people they attack. Nevertheless, the “establishment” has been on a roll.
If we define “the Establishment” as party officials, longtime office holders, sober foreign and domestic policy experts plus donors and staffers, these folks have been on a roll despite a whole lot of complaining. Remember the screeching about a debate limited to 10 people? It turned out to be a major win for the RNC. The debate was the most impressive and substantive presidential debate in years.
The RNC was right to split the debate into two rounds, making the main event more serious and the undercard a springboard for the most talented newcomer, Carly Fiorina. In refusing to tweak the rules, it gave Donald Trump every chance to self-destruct. Establishment types spotted Trump as a menace long ago and denounced his antics; the rest of the party now is catching up.
In the debate the Establishment came out looking pretty good. The best performers were candidates previously decried for compromise (Gov. Chis Christie) and immigration reform (Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida governor Jeb Bush). The biggest applause may have been for the dreaded Medicaid expander when he sounded an inclusive note on gay marriage (Ohio Gov. John Kasich).
The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act? It’s setting the stage for widespread and bipartisan opposition to the deal. Right-wing hard-liners actually wanted to defeat it a few short months ago. Establishment Republicans prevailed, thankfully.
The often vilified House and Senate GOP leadership have been churning out legislation and reaching deals on trade, human trafficking prevention, the Keystone XL pipeline (ultimately vetoed by Obama), reforming No Child Left Behind (different House and Senate versions must be reconciled), and a permanent “doc fix.”
The Establishment counseled against a government shutdown on the president’s unilateral immigration action, explaining that the courts were the best venue to win the fight. So far, success in court has proven them right. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also avoided — and vows to avoid in the future — a repeat of the disastrous 2013 shutdown. Sometimes the Establishment’s greatest achievement is in preventing the party from blowing itself up.
All in all, more experienced politicians and those inhabiting the conservative mainstream — aided by party insiders — rather than the fringes of the party are impressing voters and winning fights by showing the benefits of sane governance. They are convincing voters that “Republican” is not synonymous with “nuts” or “irresponsible.” Republicans won’t get everything they want, but this is virtually never possible in politics, especially with a Democrat in the White House. (The Establishment did, however, provide a near-clean sweep of 2014 Senate races and is the source of the GOP’s most able presidential candidates.)
Moreover, the new GOP Establishment has, unlike its critics, learned from errors, figured out that winning elections requires getting votes from non-Republicans and adopted a reform-minded agenda. Grass-roots activists can take credit for prodding and pulling the Establishment to repudiate cronyism and to make clear distinctions between the parties. But they should also concede that if not for the dreaded Establishment, the party and the conservative movement would be a lot worse off right now. The anti-Establishment critics might also want to ponder why it is that the Establishment has chalked up a string of wins. It might just be that success in politics requires skill, moderation, compromise and sobriety.
