Americans still value the government (although they also like to complain)

[Vernon Windsor]

This transcript is from the Rachel Maddow show on April 21st. It's worth checking out, or you can watch the video at the bottom.

But, first, about a week ago, “The New York Times” published a poll of tea party participants across the country. 
We do not spend a lot of time talking about polls on this show,
especially polls of social movements that don‘t have formal membership
and are pretty loosely defined.  But there was one thing written up in
that poll that has stuck with me that I can‘t really get out of my head.

This is from the end of “The New York Times‘” synopsis of their findings.  “Nearly three-quarters of those who favor smaller government said they would
prefer it even if it meant spending on domestic programs would be cut.”

“But in follow-up interviews”—this, I cannot get this out of my

head—“tea party supporters said they did not want to cut Medicare or

Social Security—the biggest domestic programs, suggesting instead a

focus on, quote, ‘waste.‘”

That‘s a conundrum, isn‘t it?  Asked Jodine White, age 62, of Rocklin, California: “I don‘t know what to say.  Maybe I don‘t want smaller
government.  I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” 
She added, “I didn‘t look at it from the perspective of losing things I
need.  I think I‘ve changed my mind.”

Right there on the spot, talking to “The New York Times” pollster.

It‘s sort of perfect, isn‘t it?  Whatever you think about the tea party protests and their tactics, now they‘ve got their message across, this
right here has been one of the persistent centrist and liberal critiques
of the tea party movement and this whole Obama era anti-government
uprising on the right—that sort of blatant clear as day contradiction,
get your government hands off my Medicare.  Get the government out of my
life.  Don‘t touch my social security.

These are not apocryphal stories, I mean, made up by liberals, right?  This lady really is wearing a taxpayer revolt T-shirt while holding a sign that reads, “Don‘t touch my Medicare.”  She‘s not a
staffer on the show.  We did not make her up.

This guy really did direct people to throw bricks through the windows of Democratic Party offices to protest there being too much government while he is living on
Social Security disability payments—which you might know are from the
government.

It‘s a contradiction that‘s present even in the way these folks choose to articulate their protest against the government.  For example, the march
on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which, even while it‘s being
used as a staging ground for anti-government protesters, is a
government-funded national park.

Protesters last week convening against government encroachment on private property, while standing on probably the most famous piece of public property in America.  It even has a
commie-sounding name, the Boston Common—common.  Get it?  One of the
country‘s oldest national parks.

On Monday, anti-government protesters showed of their right to bear arms in a government-funded state park in Virginia.

You might remember when tea party folks converged on Washington, D.C., for the big 9-12 anti-government march last year.  In addition to using a national park
for the site of their protest, one of the great footnotes to that
protest were the complaint by many 9-12 protesters that the public
transportation system that they used in D.C. to get to their
anti-government march, they didn‘t feel was up to their standards.

Here‘s how we covered it at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADDOW:  Occasionally, you come across something when you‘re reading the news that can‘t be improved upon with comment.  So, here, without comment, is
from today‘s “Wall Street Journal.”  Quote, “Protesters who attended
Saturday‘s tea party rally in Washington are unhappy with the level of
service provided by the subway system.  Republican Congressman Kevin
Brady asked for an explanation of why the government-run subway system
didn‘t, in his view, adequately prepare for the rally to protest
government spending and government services.”

Seriously.  That‘s not me saying seriously, that‘s in “The Wall Street Journal.”

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADDOW:  The ostensibly principled position these folks are taking is that they want smaller government.  They want government to do less.  And just because so many
of them are retired Medicare and Social Security recipients who get to
their protests in national parks via public mass transit, don‘t let that
get in the way of their anti-government message.

When you are shown to demonstrably not believe something you say you believe, that‘s hypocrisy.  And reasonably speaking, it should undermine your claim that
you‘re acting on principle.  You can‘t say you hate government-run
health care, for example, and then profess your love for Medicare.  It
is one or the other.  Or you don‘t make any sense.

In the case of the tea partiers, though, mainstream media coverage has been willing to almost assume that they‘re making sense, even in the face of evidence to the
contrary.

Because the idea of being in favor of smaller government, the idea that government is inherently wasteful and incompetent and should be shrunk,
because that idea has shifted from a conservative movement talking point
30 years ago to centrist Beltway common wisdom today, sometimes we
don‘t recognize the hypocrisy when it‘s right in our face.  The
conservative movement won the framing fight.  It doesn‘t sound crazy
anymore to rail against the federal government while standing in a
national park until you really think about it.

I mean, imagine anyone protesting in favor of government.  Imagine for a minute if people were actually out there protesting for government not to go away and shrink
but to be better, to stay the same size or maybe even to do more. 
Imagine if people were protesting against cuts to government that were
going to hurt their quality of life.

It might not get as much air time as the tea party anti-government protests but that is, in fact, some of what‘s going on in America right now.

If you were in Atlanta, Georgia, today, you might have seen big mass transit buses and trains marked with giant red Xs across them.  Every
bus or train with an “X” on it represented one that‘s scheduled to be
cut from service as a result of the Atlanta transit system‘s massive
budget deficit.  The Xs were drawn on by transit employees.

In Cleveland, Ohio, yesterday, hundreds of people jammed in to a crowded school board meeting to protest that city‘s decision to lay off more than 500
teachers in order to make up a $53 million deficit.  That decision is
going to result in a 40 to one student to teacher ratio in Cleveland
classrooms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  When does money precede education of our children?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADDOW:  In Springfield, Illinois, today, thousands of people marched on the state capitol to argue—get this—to argue in favor of a tax increase in Illinois.  In
favor of a tax increase in Illinois so that cities in Illinois do not
see the same type of teacher layoffs and mass transit cut that places
like Cleveland and Atlanta are already experiencing and already
protesting.

At the Save Our State march today in Illinois, people reportedly chanted to their lawmakers in unison, “Show some guts.  Show some guts.”

Similar protests have taken place in the past few weeks in places including Burbank, California, and Greenville, South Carolina.  These are Americans arguing
that what the government provides is important and they don‘t want it
to be taken away.  And they‘re arguing that when government has to be
cut for financial reasons, there‘s real pain caused by that—essentially,
the people really need what government does.

It‘s sort of the un-tea party.  The anti-tea party.  The un-tea party? 

Probably never going to catch on.

Even if the protests do, it doesn‘t necessarily fit the national media narrative that everybody hates the government now.  But this is happening.  It‘s a
real thing.  It should be reported on, too.

Joining us now is Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.  He‘s the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Governor Rendell, thanks very much for joining us tonight.

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA:  My pleasure.

MADDOW:  State and local governments are in dire straits right now.  You and I have talked about that before on the show.  We are seeing protest about mass transit cuts
and teacher layoffs.

What do you think the political impact is of the tough situation that cities and states are in and how people are reacting to it?

RENDELL:  Well, I think you made a very central point in the early part of your narrative, and that‘s the conservatives have won this argument and they‘ve certainly
won it over the last 16, 17 months—in the fact that the tea party gets
tremendous—the tea parties get tremendous coverage.

And think about it—week before the health care vote, they had a rally in Washington, got 1,000 people, maybe not even that.  The tax day rally, the big rally to
protest federal taxes got less than 1,500 people showing up, according
to their own organizer.  Other people thought it was in the 400 or 500
range.

Gosh, if I had a rally in Washington to have stronger laws to protect puppies, we‘d have 100,000 people without blinking.  And yet, the media, including
the so-called liberal and progressive media, have given the tea
party-ites elevation in terms of the impact they‘re having on the
national debate and discussion—way above what they deserve.

And conversely, the rallies that you talked about, I think you‘d have to look pretty hard tomorrow in “The Washington Post” and “The New York Times” and “The
Boston Herald,” in any papers, to find those rallies covered.

But people do understand—and, by the way, I think we Democrats have not done a good job making our case.  Education matters—and spending on education,
spending for quality pre-K and full-day kindergarten improves
performance.  Spending for after-school tutoring gets kids who are
falling below proficiency levels in reading and math, up to proficiency
levels.

But we haven‘t made our case very well.  We, Democrats, I think, are responsible in part for losing this debate over the last 16 or 17 months
because we‘ve been unable and willing to speak about or afraid to speak
about what we believe in.  The government effectively managed and
effectively implemented can make a real difference in changing the
quality of people‘s lives and creating opportunity for people.

So, I think we bear some of the blame.  We, Democrats, and we ought to get off our duffs and start speaking about what we believe in.  And the mainstream media
deserves some of the blame for elevating the tea partiers‘ point of view
and not pointing out the hypocrisy in what they‘re saying.

MADDOW:  The hypocrisy in what they‘re saying and also, I think, the way that it sort of inflates the Beltway narrative about what—the way that they want to describe the
country right now.  It‘s sort of formed into this calcified common
wisdom right now which isn‘t necessarily borne out by the facts.

But let me ask you about that, though.  Whether it was because of inflated media coverage or not, when the tea parties formed, Republicans rushed to catch up with them. 
They really chased that energy.

Is it possible that on the left and in the center, the people are further ahead Democratic politicians on this issue, understanding the importance of what government does?  Are Democrats
going to be catching up to regular folks on this?

RENDELL:  Well, I think so, particularly if we stop being afraid.  Last night at an affair in Washington, I said that too many of our Democrats from the last 16
months have been cowering behind shower curtains and haven‘t gotten out
there and spoke about what we believe in.

We believe that government effectively managed can make a difference in so many people‘s lives.  And there are so many pieces of evidence to show that.  And that government can work.

But we don‘t say it.  We haven‘t been out there fighting.  We haven‘t been out there supporting the president.  We haven‘t been out there doing a lot of things.

So, I think, we bear some of the responsibility for what is going on.  And the tea partiers have been the only voice America‘s been hearing.  And I think that‘s got to
change.

But, to your point—absolutely.  I think that there are progressives in this country who are way out in front of the politicians, and I love the fact
that the Illinois protesters were saying, “Show some guts,” because I
think that‘s exactly what we need to do.

If we‘re going to go down in November—and I don‘t think we are—but if we‘re going to go down, let‘s go down fighting for the things we believe in.  Let‘s not be afraid, and let‘s not sort of
let them control the dynamic and control the dialogue.

MADDOW:  Governor, one of the reasons I think that Republicans and conservatives have been better at articulating the “government is bad” message is because the
Republican Party really feels like it has to answer to the conservative
movement.  And the conservative movement has made—taken that on as an
ideological hill where they‘ve planted their flag and they‘re just
consistent about it, regardless of what‘s going on in electoral
politics.

Are Democrats not respectful in the same way of the progressive base, of the unions and liberal groups and anti-war groups and feminists and
minority groups and others that make up the Democratic base?  Would them
paying more attention to their base make them smarter about
articulating a core Democratic message?

RENDELL:  Sure, and also smarter electorally because turnout is going to determine what happens in the 2010 congressional elections, in my judgment.  Everyone gives a little bit too much credit
to the independents.

Look, we want to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the independents and for their votes.  But it‘s also going to defend on turnout.

In Pennsylvania, we have 1.3 million more registered Democrats than Republicans.  We‘ve got a governor‘s election and a senator‘s election, and, of course, all our
congressmen.  If we get a good Democratic turnout, we win.

But we have to give our base a reason to get out there, a reason to feel proud of who we are and what we stood for as a party.  And I don‘t think up to now we‘ve done a
very effective job in doing it.

MADDOW:  Pennsylvania‘s governor, Ed Rendell—thank you so much for your time tonight, sir.

RENDELL:  My pleasure, Rachel.

MADDOW:  Appreciate it.

RENDELL:  Show some guts.

MADDOW:  I‘m trying.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22887392#36701345

[Madhatterat60]

Isn't it funny how you hear them say SMALLER GOVERNMENT!! LESS INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT!! CUT MY TAXES!!!! Then wonder why schools across this country will lose 300,000 teachers this year and why they can't get a rapid response from that state office. (In town, it's the local planning board and BOY are they up in arms!) When you ask which programs need to be cut, the first and most obvious is WELFARE because of them illegals and lazy cheats. When you mention that fully 2/3rds of all welfare recipients are poor white people...Oh...really....well...it's them OTHER cheats..you know...the illegals. When you remind them that illegal aliens aren't likely to sign up for welfare because it means all sorts of documentation that they don't have...Well..it's them OTHER cheats. Funny how that works...we want the services but damned if we want to PAY for them.

[Vernon Windsor]

Exactly.