Confession - when I'm clearing & cleaning my present-day Aegean Stable of a house, you'll usually find me with a portable dvd player close by, playing a West Wing episode. This morning, it was one of the best - The Supremes, about the challenges faced by any administration getting Supreme Court justice nominations out of committee, let alone confirmed. Even if the president's party controls the Senate, the opposition has ways to block any action for months, years. It's noteworthy that when Harry Reid restored majority vote, Supreme Court appointments were made an exception.
It got me to thinking about how very broken our government is at this moment in time & no one seems to making a move to right the flagrant wrongs. Conservatives blame liberals, liberals fault conservatives & without enough centrists - yes, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle - we remain at a dangerous standstill.
When George W. Bush was elected by grace of the Supreme Court, Republicans considered he'd received a mandate from the people. Anyone who opposed him was painted as trying to obstruct the will of the people. When Barack Obama was elected - twice - with clear majorities, Republicans painted him as illegitimate, completely ignored the fact that in both elections over 50% of the American public cast their votes for him & not his GOP opponent.
There is a key difference in dynamics that make the current political landscape ungovernable. Polls indicate that a majority of Democrats favor elected official who negotiate & work out compromises. Those same polls find that a majority of Republicans expect elected officials to stand by conservative principles, whatever the cost.
A significant number of conservatives were heart & soul behind Ted Cruz shutting down the government in order to achieve the unachievable because it felt right. An even larger number don't care that the majority of Americans voted for a liberal (true liberals would call centrist) Democrat for president - they would point out that the House is controlled by the GOP & that it is their duty to America to thwart the president to the full extent that they are able.
A majority of Democrats support a president who caves & a majority of Republicans support a House - and as many Senators as possible, certainly all conservatives - who stand by their principles, who consider negotiation anathema & compromise unthinkable. As one Republican congressman said, without any intended humor, compromise is when a Democrat accepts a GOP position.
Interesting scenario.
No comments:
Post a Comment