Gop Battle Cry For Accountability Should Apply To All

In the “Contract with America” signed by congressional Republicans a year ago, where did it say they would cut the ground out from under health care for the elderly and poor?

Where in the “Contract with America” did Republicans say they were going to slash Medicare by $270 billion over seven years, and Medicaid by $182 billion?

And where in the contract did Republicans say elect us and we will take all this money from the needy and give needless tax cuts to the affluent?

Any health care money gouged out of the elderly and the poor for redistribution to the rich must be made up somehow.

Of necessity, help must come from the paychecks of working class Americans. It must come from the cash registers of Main Street’s small businesses. And it must come from voluntary contributions to destitute neighbors.

Again and again in the ways the Republican revolution is turning out, the emphasis is on holding everyone accountable. Everyone, that is, except those in positions of power, of privilege and of wealth.

And if that is to be the case, this is not a revolution for the people.

It’s for fat cats, political opportunists and corporate backers who demand self-reliance from others, while they themselves milk the system. Thus the revolution’s big shots shout for sacrifice. But they load up on lifetime Cadillac health benefits and rich pensions at the expense of workers who can’t afford these luxuries.

There is no downside for top officials.

Take Bob Packwood.

Taxpayers shelled out untold millions for months of hearings into his sexual antics. Only then could the Senate lover boy be forced to resign, take a pension of $100,000 a year, and live the good life in Oregon. Bidding him a misty farewell and expressing admiration for a job well done was none other than Republican presidential front-runner Bob Dole.

Such shameful shenanigans by the political elite cost taxpayers plenty.

And the same goes for the corporate elite.

Typically, when arrogance and ignorance reduce corporate giants to rack and ruin, the pattern is just to lop off a thousand or so workers’ heads. And life at the top goes on as usual.

At worst, a top executive can always rely on his golden parachute to ensure a happy landing. But more often, the perpetrators of such acts of violence on the working class are rewarded with hefty bonuses for increasing productivity and restoring profitability.

The daily news is rife with such reports.

In terms of unaccountability, the mishandling of Washington Water Power’s downtown Spokane oil spill is a classic.

For years, top management kept the contamination secret from businesses in the Davenport Hotel district and from the general public. When the leak did come to light in the press, top management attempted to minimize its significance.

But owners of the Davenport claim they can’t secure financing to continue restoration. Other property owners say they also are adversely impacted.

And no matter how a lawsuit brought by the hotel turns out, nothing can make up for the distress caused an entire community. Citizens cherish the historic grand hotel and know only too well how important its reopening would be in efforts to revitalize downtown.

Nor can the loss to its customers ever be made up.

Even if shareholders absorb the direct loss on paper, ratepayers will end up paying indirectly. Because, as a regulated private utility, WWP’s rates are set by a public commission. To offset the cost of the Davenport mess, rates must be high enough for a healthy return. Or the utility’s cost of borrowing money will be higher, the costs of which are passed on to consumers. So customers get stuck no matter what.

Who’s accountable here?

Accountability, the battle cry of the Republican revolution, has to apply to all. Not just those out of power or favor. Not just the poor and the workers. But everyone. Equally. Including all the big shots.

Until it does, all the prattle about a cultural, a social, a political revolution in the works is so much empty pretense. And the revolution is just another sleazy greed-motivated power grab.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel’s column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review