Congressional recesses, particularly in August, traditionally have been portrayed as an opportunity for the elected to reconnect with the electors.
But they also are points in time when national issues either rise or fall based on the opinions expressed by the people back home.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan, on the backs of a new Republican majority in the United States Senate, pushed through a series of budget reductions and a set of tax cuts. These economic measures were touted as the right steps to move the country out of a period of stagflation — double-digit inflation and unemployment. The bounce back was somewhat flat, and voters in various congressional districts expressed their displeasure during the August recess at the lack of economic improvement.
When Congress returned, Republicans panicked, and a short-term stimulus program in the guise of a gasoline tax increase moved through Congress and was signed by Mr. Reagan.
The 31-plus August recess is a political barometer for issues and for politicians.
The last opportunity to wrestle with significant health care reform was 1994, but the legislation did not emerge until after the recess. In that instance, the avoidance of the August downtime with constituents was not why health care failed during the presidency of Bill Clinton. There were any number of political missteps and miscalculations that spelled doom for the reform plan.
The team assembled by President Barack Obama learned from those errors, or so it seemed. But as the hazy days of August progress, the highly touted Obama message control machine appears to have sputtered.
Team Obama has been extremely disciplined when gauging success based on message dissemination and turning out voters and supporters. But recent weeks show signs it is losing the initiative, similar to the weeks following the Republican National Convention last year. The GOP surprised the country and Team Obama by naming a relatively unknown first-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as the vice presidential nominee. She went to work and for two weeks it seemed that Mr. Obama was running against her and not Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president.
Finding their way back, with a little help from a sinking economy, Team Obama moved back into message control and headed toward election in 2008.
Two weeks into the August 2009 congressional recess, Democrats find themselves back on their heels. Whether the confrontations at town hall meetings are totally orchestrated and contrived is not the issue. The effect has been forcing Democratic congressmen to cancel public appearances and a president
explaining the intricate details of advising older people on end-of-life issues as part of the health care reform package.
The saying that the devil is in the details certainly applies to health care reform, particularly when those who are on the defensive decide to continue explaining the details.
Self-preservation is a great motivator for elected politicians.
The month of August 2009 is testing the blustery winds of re-election some 15 months away, and more than a handful of politicians are not sure of the direction it is blowing.
To reach Tom Griscom, call 423 757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com.
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