Monday, February 16, 2009
Editorial: Bipartisanship isn't a one-way street
Republicans seem to believe that bipartisanship means they get to dictate. They forgot November.
From the RoundTable blog
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President Obama continues to try to reach a hand across the aisle, only to have it slapped by Republicans who seem to believe that bipartisanship means they should get their way -- never mind the clear mandate for Democrats in the November election.
Despite considerable outreach to and input from Republicans on the stimulus bill, especially in the Senate, not a single Republican in the House and only three in the Senate voted for a stimulus package that many economists say is vital to America's economic recovery (though some of the concessions to Republicans will blunt the stimulative impact of the bill).
The latest slap? The embarrassing withdrawal of Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, whom Obama had tapped as commerce secretary.
Gregg said he had too many "irresolvable conflicts" with the president on important economic issues. He couldn't have figured that out before he accepted the nomination?
Obama, for his part, says he will "just keep on making efforts to build the kind of bipartisan consensus around important issues that I think the American people are looking for."
Good luck, Mr. President. It appears Republicans decided to follow Rush Limbaugh's example, hoping for presidential failure, whatever the consequences to the nation.
The party appears to have made the crass political analysis that its best chance of regaining power is to obstruct Obama's agenda as much as possible. If the economy crashes and burns between now and the 2010 congressional election, the GOP believes it will have a better shot at picking up seats.
Republicans had an opportunity for significant input on the stimulus plan. Instead, they offered up an alternative that consisted of nothing but tax cuts.
Tax cuts are meaningless if you don't have a job. The Republican Party doesn't appear to get that.
Obama shouldn't worry about finding another Republican to appoint to commerce. He should find the best person, regardless of party affiliation, to get the job done.
He can keep trying to reach out to Republicans, but he should do so with the understanding that many of them do not want him to succeed.
