The title of this blog post came from a conversation with a
longtime friend about how completely polarized and dysfunctional our government
has become. The greatest experiment in
government has now become completely incapable of doing anything. A two party system of government only works
when both sides accept the need to work together and compromise to reach a
mutually agreeable solution. Both
parties have to give and take. Neither
party should be forced to give up everything in discussions, but they do need
to be willing to give up on some things.
They actually have to listen to each other and talk to each other
instead of just talking about each other on news shows. For most of 200 years, this worked. Obviously throughout our nation’s history we
have had partisan divide, but America would have failed a long time ago if the
partisan gridlock were this bad. Now our
politicians, starting with President Obama, absolutely refuse to compromise and
work together. They are more interested
in getting sound bites on 24 hour news that accuse and vilify the other side to
bolster their own party’s election chances.
They are arrogant, inflexible, and absolutely incapable of doing the job
the American people have elected them to do.
They say “my way or the highway” and only talk about their colleagues
instead of talking to their colleagues across the aisle. They pander to the few instead of working
together for the many.
Recently former President Bush #41 has been in the news as one of
the recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award. The Profiles in Courage Award recognizes
politicians who have risked their political careers for the good of the
country. President Bush received the
award for his 1990 budget agreement with the democrats. President Bush was concerned with the
increasing deficits and knew something needed to be done. He had famously pledged “no new taxes” during
his campaign, but he had to give in to democratic demands to raise taxes in
order to secure democratic concessions on entitlement programs and
discretionary spending. His efforts to
work with Congressional democrats and his willingness to accept the give and
take negotiations lead to the passing of a successful bill that formed the
basis of the prosperity of the 90s.
President Bush knew when he agreed to raise taxes that he was likely
risking his chances at reelection.
However, he recognized that his job was do what was right for the
country, and passing a bipartisan bill to reign in deficit spending was the
right thing to do for the good of the country.
President Bush realized that even though he was President that did not
mean that he could refuse to compromise and demand that Congress acquiesce to
all his demands. President Bush #41 is
certainly not the only recent example of a President and a Congress willing to
work together. President Reagan and House
Speaker Tip O’Neill managed to both work together and be friends. President Clinton worked with Congressional
republicans to pass the welfare reform bill.
President Bush #43 came together with Ted Kennedy to pass the No Child
Left Behind legislation.
Sadly in the last term of the Bush #43 presidency, the democrats
began opposing and obstructing anything proposed by President Bush or the
republicans. It has gotten far worse
under President Obama with both parties making no attempts to compromise and
work together. As President, Obama
should take a cue from his predecessors and lead negotiations with
republicans. Instead, as we saw with the
health care law, debt ceiling increases, and budget bills, President Obama
chooses to either completely ignore republicans or invite them to forums and
speeches and lecture them. He demands
bills that are exactly to his liking. He
seems to think that because he is President, Congress only exists to do his
bidding. He refuses to negotiate in good
faith with republican leadership as evidenced by the disastrous budget and debt
ceiling talks. He publicly disrespects
republicans by saying they need to sit in the back of the car or inviting
Congressman Ryan to a speech on Ryan’s proposed budget and then absolutely
ripping it to shreds in his speech. I
have never before seen a President who so frequently dismisses and disrespects
the other party.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is clearly following Obama’s
example. The Senate has done basically
nothing in six years. Senator Reid
repeatedly refuses to bring up any republican sponsored legislation for a
vote. Even beyond that, he refuses to
allow republicans the opportunity to amend bills when they come up for a
vote. Never mind that since its
inception, the Senate has allowed amendments to bills from both parties. Never mind that democrats would be just as
upset as republicans are now if the situation were reversed. Harry Reid still runs the Senate like a
dictator. Is he so afraid that a bill
might get passed that isn't full of 100% liberal democrat approved ideas? The most recent example of the Senate’s
dysfunction is the Energy Efficiency Bill and Keystone XL Pipeline approval. Harry Reid wouldn't even let legislation with
wide bipartisan support through the Senate, and the American people lost out
yet again. What makes this latest Senate
failure even more damning is the fact that the Energy Bill had broad support
across both parties and numerous democrats have joined republicans in calling
for the immediate approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Apparently, even on the rare occasions when
the two parties come together, Harry Reid will do whatever it takes to squelch
compromise. If the Senate can’t even
pass this, there is no chance of actually addressing major problems like the
deficit, entitlement spending, the economy, etc. The problem isn't just in the Senate. While the House actually has
passed a lot of bills, very few of them were compromise bills with bipartisan
support.
Lest anyone think I hold democrats entirely accountable for the
failures, the election of tea party candidates who explicitly campaign on their
refusal to work with democrats just continues this cycle. Many tea party legislators even refuse to
compromise and work with other republicans!
I thought many of the founding principles of the tea party were valid,
specifically limiting the growth and intrusion of government and expecting
elected officials to listen to the people they supposedly represent. I was just as angry and frustrated as the
tea party that Obama and the democrats passed health care reform without
including a single republican proposal and without a single republican
vote. That was completely unacceptable
and wrong. However, it’s rather ironic
that the tea party wants to do the exact same thing. Both parties need to remember that one party
rule is either a dictatorship or a monarchy, and 238 years ago we decided we didn't like that form of government. I certainly don't think many Americans these days would sign up for that again, but that's exactly what we'd get if one party had absolute power.
The
grand and glorious American experiment envisioned and implemented by our founding fathers has
worked for over 200 years. It’s time “we
the people” remind our politicians that compromise is a big part of what makes our
great republic work. It’s time we
expect our politicians to act like adults, work together, and be willing to
compromise rather than act like children who yell “no” and stomp their foot
when they don’t get their way. It’s time
we stop electing candidates who say they will not compromise. It’s time we elect leaders and public
servants instead of politicians. It’s
time we elect men and women not only of conviction, but also of compassion and
courage. It’s time we expect our
government to follow the example set for them 238 years ago when men from many
different backgrounds, walks of life, and political philosophies boldly came
together to form the greatest country in the world. Those men risked everything because they
believed that America could be great, and it’s time we stand up and preserve
her greatness. As we celebrate Memorial
Day on Monday, I can think of no better way to honor the sacrifices of those
who served our country than to begin to tear the walls of polarization and
return the values of mutual respect, listening, and compromise to our
government.
