Whose America?

[Guest guest]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/06/ING219GG97.DTL & type=\

health

Whose America?

White

Sunday, September 6, 2009

A revealing moment occurred in the health care debate this summer when a woman

attending an Arkansas town meeting stood weeping and declared, " At this point in

my life, I have never seen my America turned into what it has turned into, and I

want my America back. "

This simple declarative statement dispelled any illusion that reforming health

care is only about reducing premiums, establishing universal coverage, creating

a government-run option or changing the tax laws.

What gives the debate its emotional wallop is a sense held by many that their

image of what America is and who Americans are is passing and, with it, their

ability to exercise decisive political power.

In many ways, the white woman from Arkansas was right when she observed that her

America had turned into something unfamiliar. The Census Bureau has estimated

that by 2042, whites will become a minority of all Americans. In 1970, two

prominent political writers, Scammon and Ben Wattenberg , declared that

the " real majority " of Americans were " un-young, un-poor, and un-black. " Put

another way, most Americans were white and middle-age, possessed middle incomes,

had families that consisted of a mom, dad and kids, resided in the suburbs and

attended a church regularly.

These voters experienced a Great Depression, benefited from lin D.

Roosevelt's New Deal and applauded President Lyndon when Medicare became

law in 1965. Indeed, Medicare became the last big government entitlement program

until W. Bush enacted a prescription drug benefit in 2003. In both cases,

members of this real majority liked what they saw because these were their

programs.

But soon after LBJ signed the Medicare bill, the long-standing Republican

criticism concerning big government gained traction, largely because Democrats

were so successful in transforming the " have-not " generation of the 1930s into

the " have-more " generation of the 1960s and '70s.

Suddenly, Americans saw themselves as taxpayers, not recipients of government

services. And too many government programs were viewed by the real majority as

helping them - i.e., the young, the poor, those living in urban areas, families

headed by single moms, minorities. Republicans exploited the feeling that too

many disadvantaged Americans were getting something for nothing - recall

Reagan's vivid depiction of a mythical Cadillac-driving " welfare queen. " Add to

this a growing culture war in which conservative values held by the " real

majority " were being challenged by greater sexual freedom, legalization of

abortion, greater equality between men and women, a slow but inexorable

acceptance of homosexuality and more racial tolerance. As a result,

Nixon and Reagan created such a powerful Republican lock on the White House that

Democrats were able to pick it only three times: Jimmy in 1976 and Bill

Clinton in 1992 and 1996.

These long-standing Republican-inspired arguments against big government

programs sponsored by Democrats have echoes in today's health care debate.

According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 55 percent of

Americans believe that President Obama's plan will provide health insurance to

illegal immigrants; 54 percent believe it will lead to a government takeover of

the entire health care system; and 50 percent say it will use taxpayer dollars

to pay for women to have abortions on demand.

The first and third statements are false: Health care for illegal immigrants is

not part of any proposal before Congress, and the Hyde Amendment still prohibits

federal dollars from being used to finance abortions.

As for a government takeover, the proposed public option would create an

opportunity for people to buy into a government-run insurance plan, but even

this idea would leave the existing insurance companies intact. And passage of a

so-called public option remains doubtful.

The fact that a majority of Americans believes these statements to be true says

much about our time. For the old " real majority " of yesteryear, the passions

surrounding health care are eerily familiar as it has been angry at excessive

government spending and resentful of changes in our cultural values for decades.

But something new has been added: a sense that their ability to wield political

power is ebbing. The " my America " to which the white woman in Arkansas referred

does not include having an African American president.

It does not envision a country where English is often a second language (despite

Arkansas and 27 other states adopting English-only laws).

It does not envision a country where Hispanics will approach 29 percent of the

total population in 2050. It does not include a world in which race is not so

clearly defined in 1960s-era black-and-white terms. It does not envision a

country where only one-third of Americans describe their own families as

consisting of a mom, a dad and kids.

The old real majority of 1970 could only muster 48 percent and 51 percent of the

total votes cast for W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and 46 percent of the total

votes cast for McCain in 2008. Its presence is still keenly felt among

older Americans who best fit the old description of being un-young, un-poor, and

un-black. Given their high rate of voter participation, seniors matter and their

voices undoubtedly will be heard in 2010. But an old political axiom still holds

true: Demography is destiny.

The passing of the political torch in 2008 from that old real majority to one

that is less white, more racially diverse and boasting a wider variety of family

backgrounds was unmistakable. This new 21st century demography made Barack Obama

president.

As today's health care debate demonstrates, the passing of the torch from one

majority to another is not without tension and anxiety. Nonetheless, the " my

America " of which the Arkansas town hall participant spoke and whose restoration

she longed for is not coming back any time soon.

White is a professor of politics at the Catholic University of

America and author of " Barack Obama's America: How New Conceptions of Race,

Family, and Religion Ended the Reagan Era "