The Core Issue Is Living Standards

WASHINGTON — What are conservatives to make of Patrick J. Buchanan and his insurgent candidacy? Is he the "extremist" that Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has suggested, in contrast to what Dole calls his own "mainstream conservative" views? Or is he a left-wing wolf in conservative clothing? Lamar Alexander says Buchanan's ideas have much in common with House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt's, while George Will divines links to Karl Marx's theories. It is not clear which is the greater slander in the conservative lexicon.

Neither of these assessments fully captures Buchanan and the nature of his appeal. But both camps agree--and are right--that he poses a serious threat to modern conservatism.

The cultural extremism that leads people such as former Education Secretary William J. Bennett and Colin L. Powell to say they could not support Buchanan as the GOP nominee is certainly a potential complication for the Republican Party. But all the talk about the impact of Buchanan's convention speech in Houston in 1992--or in San Diego in 1996--is overblown. And, by standing up for hard-core Christian conservatives, Buchanan does the party a valuable service.

What's truly dangerous for conservatives and the GOP are the heretical views Buchanan expresses on the economy. Buchanan has made "the economic insecurity of the middle class and declining wages of American workers" a central theme of his candidacy. This is not, to say the least, the usual stuff of GOP campaign oratory. He concentrates on two issues, corporate downsizing and persistent foreign trade deficits, to drive home his points. But his central theme is the fundamental question of the standard of living for average people.

Buchanan has broken a conspiracy of silence about the issue of living standards, one that included not only all Republicans but also many Democrats. It simply wasn't polite to talk about corporate responsibility. He's like the local gas-station owner who suddenly breaks the informal oligopoly arrangement and starts a price war. Others have to follow--but they sure are mad. Even Dole was forced to address the issue in New Hampshire, saying, "Corporate profits are setting records and so are corporate layoffs. The real average hourly wage is 5% lower than it was a decade ago." When Dole said early in this campaign that he "would be Ronald Reagan, if that's what you want," he neglected to mention he'd also be Norman Thomas, if that's what we want.