Some countries have “natural parties of government” so dominant that they’re expected to win most elections. The United States, by contrast, has one major party that generally venerates government and elevates it over other sectors of society, and another more prone to (often situational) skepticism of the coercive state and of those who spend their lives doing its work. Even as the Democratic and Republican parties morph into new and illiberal forms, their attitudes toward government have real differences.
The “wide partisan gaps” were found by Pew Research in a recent survey: “Democrats and Democratic leaners hold consistently favourable views of all 16 agencies asked about. Republicans and GOP leaners express more unfavourable than favourable views for 11 of the 16 agencies.”
Some of the biggest differences of opinion concern the enforcement arms of the federal government. Fifty-five per cent of Democrats view the Department of Justice favourably (32 per cent unfavourably), compared to 33 per cent of Republicans (56 per cent unfavourably). Sixty-six per cent of Democrats see the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) favourably (17 per cent unfavourably), compared to 37 per cent of Republicans (50 per cent unfavourably).
For the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a surprising 50 per cent of Democrats can summon fond opinions of the tax agency (37 per cent unfavourable), compared to 26 per cent of Republicans (65 per cent unfavourable).
Admittedly, some of the contrasting opinions can be attributed to Democrats controlling the presidency. As Pew’s Charles Babington commented in 2021, “Americans have little trust in their government, especially when their preferred party doesn’t hold the White House.” The latest polling by Pew has 11 per cent of Republicans trusting “the government to do what is right just about always/most of the time” under President Joe Biden, while a whopping 35 per cent of Democrats feel that way (overall trust in government hasn’t exceeded 50 per cent in over 20 years). The opinions were almost exactly reversed when Donald Trump was in the White House.
But even under Trump, in 2019, more Democrats (77 per cent) than Republicans (66 per cent) had favourable opinions of the FBI and also of the IRS (59 per cent of Democrats versus 49 per cent of Republicans). More Republicans (61 per cent) trusted the Department of Justice, but with the support of 49 per cent of Democrats, the gap was just 12 per cent.
It’s therefore little surprise that polling by Gallup last fall found that 78 per cent of Republicans believe government is doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses — an opinion held by a majority in that party for at least three decades. By contrast, 75 per cent of Democrats believe government should do more — a majority opinion among the members of that party for two decades.
In broad terms, Democrats have faith in government while the GOP is skeptical — though a lot of Republicans are willing to suspend disbelief when their party controls the executive branch.
The contrast between the two parties can be seen in stark terms in the resumes of the two presidential and vice-presidential tickets. The New York Times made it easier to compare them earlier this month when it ran charts of the career timelines of Trump, J.D. Vance, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Their roles at any given age were colour-coded for college, military, private sector, public service or politics, federal government and candidate for federal office.
Peach is the colour used by the Times to indicate employment in the private sector, which produces the opportunities and wealth that are mugged away (taxation is theft by another name, after all) to fund all other sectors. It appears under the headings of “businessman” and “television personality” for Trump and as “lawyer and venture capitalist” for Vance. But private-sector peach appears nowhere in the timelines for Harris and Walz. Besides, perhaps, some odd jobs when they were young, neither of the Democrats has worked in the private sector.
Now, not all private-sector jobs are created equal. Some of the Republican presidential candidate’s ventures, like Trump University, have been highly sketchy, as are some of his practices — he’s openly boasted about donating to politicians to gain favours (though try to do business in New York without greasing palms). I’m not sure I’d want The Apprentice on my resume. But there must be some value to working on the receiving end of the various regulations and taxes government officials foist on society rather than spending one’s career brainstorming more rules without ever suffering the consequences.
In 1992, former U.S. senator and 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern penned a column for the Wall Street Journal about the challenges he encountered investing in a hotel after many years in government.
“In retrospect, I … wish that during the years I was in public office, I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day,” he wrote. He bemoaned “federal, state and local rules” passed with seemingly good intentions but little thought to the burdens and costs they imposed.
The lack of private sector stints in the career timelines of Harris and Walz means that, like pre-hotel McGovern, they’ve never had to worry about what it’s like to suffer the policies of a large and intrusive government.
That said, it’s possible to overstate the lessons learned by Republicans and Democrats from their different experiences. Vance, despite having worked to fund and launch businesses, has, since being elected to the U.S. Senate, advocated capturing the regulatory state and repurposing it for political uses, including punishing enemies.
Not only does power corrupt, but it does so quickly.
But that still leaves us with a contrast between candidates who have worked in the real world and those who have not. Between rank-and-file party members who generally trust government, and those who have faith in the institution only when their own leaders are in power. And between visions for a world in which government plays a larger role, and one where it does less.
Whether and how the winner in November implements their ideas remains an open question, especially with both parties shifting in more authoritarian directions. But one of these parties will prevail, and it will carry along its attitudes towards government and the private sector.
National Post