Revolution on ice - Republican revolution stalled - Editorial

REPUBLICAN congressmen are not adjourning at the end of the month; they are retreating from an aggressive, confident Democratic Party. Worried that President Clinton might veto their appropriations bills in order to force another government shutdown, thus replacing the GOP's vaunted "record of accomplishment" with the memory of last winter's debacle, they have been seeking a Clinton signature at any price. So far, that price has included a $6.5-billion increase in discretionary spending for next year. If that were the worst of it, it could be fixed with a rescission bill next spring. But the real price is far higher: Congress has enacted a series of health-policy changes that have moved America significantly closer to the ClintonCare whose defeat elected this Congress in the first place.

A bill introduced by Sen. Pete Domenici (R., N.M.) requires employers with over fifty employees to provide the same coverage for mental as for physical illnesses. It also gives broad new authority to the Department of Labor to monitor the private sector's employee benefits. Congress has also mandated that private insurers must cover at least 48 hours of hospitalization following normal births, an indefensible interference with private contractual arrangements that will be overseen by the Public Health Service. It is estimated that 7,200 new federal employees will be needed to oversee the new regulations of HMOs that Congress is likely to pass despite the lonely efforts of Sen. Don Nickles (R., Okla.). All this on top of the Kassebaum - Kennedy health-insurance regulations. Remember the chart Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) used to illustrate the absurd complexity of the Clinton health plan? Very soon, the Republican Congress will have put in place about a third of the colored boxes. Don't be surprised if in a few years many private employers and insurers, frustrated by intrusive and costly federal regulations, are agitating to complete the chart.

It would be churlish to deny the real accomplishments of this Congress. Discretionary spending has been cut compared to the previous year for the first time since 1969; the hated federal speed limit eliminated; the defense free-fall halted; a substantial, though overrated, welfare reform passed. Nevertheless, it is impossible to ignore the dismal fact that the sometime Republican Revolutionaries are running for re-election bragging that they abolished free ice deliveries to House offices. Speaker Gingrich now brings an empty ice bucket to every public appearance to dramatize the $400,000 savings -- but the empty bucket is equally symbolic of the philosophical content of this campaign. The revolution is on ice.

And the situation cannot be blamed on President Clinton's invincibility. Sen. Nickles, a rare member of Congress still willing to fight, has shown how to make the Republican case, call Clinton's bluff, and force him to fold the bad hand he is holding. When the Administration granted a waiver exempting Washington, D.C., from the new (and largely meaningless) five-year limit on receipt of federal welfare benefits, some Republicans mumbled about holding a hearing to review the action. But Nickles demanded that the Administration defend the sweetheart deal and that senators be held accountable. Within 24 hours of being blasted by the Washington Post editorial page, Nickles was featured on its front page having won a reversal by the Administration, which had suddenly discovered that the District had not followed "proper procedures" in seeking its waiver. The Post reported that the Administration's "unprecedented decision" to withdraw its approval followed the Nickles-led "GOP furor."

Nor can Bob Dole be legitimately held responsible for the congressional Republicans' current posture. Lord knows there are legitimate complaints about the Dole campaign, and NR has made most of them. But the flight from Dole's campaign is almost entirely the result of his low poll numbers, not of substantive missteps he has made. Republican congressmen have actually managed to position themselves to the left of Bob Dole. Dole is running on across-the-board tax cuts. With certain honorable exceptions --Rep. David McIntosh (Ind.) and Senate candidates Sam Brownback (Kan.) and Al Salvi (Ill.) come to mind -- congressional candidates are not. Rep. Tom Davis (R., Va.) opposes the spending cuts that a tax cut might entail; Rep. Tom Campbell (R., Calif.) questions the supply-side math. Congressional candidates complain about Dole's inability to get his message across, but their silence has contributed to the problem.

A lot of attention is being given, not least in NR's special Voter's Guide in this issue, to the Republican Party's chances of keeping its congressional majorities. Given the party's recent performance, some conservatives may well ask whether it deserves to keep them. If re-elected, Republicans may learn the wrong lessons and continue to provide cover for liberal initiatives. The alacrity with which the Republican Senate has been approving Clinton judicial appointees nullifies the most compelling rationale for keeping Republicans in charge.