rssWhy Obama Will Stay Bipartisan
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 6:15 pm
- 6 Comments
John Harwood of The New York Times has sketched an emerging scenario in which the Obama administration seeks comprehensive health care and energy reform without significant Republican support. Democrats are increasingly talking about abandoning the pretense of bipartisanship and putting the historic legislation in a filibuster-proof budget resolution could be passed by simple Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. With Republicans mostly unwilling to support President Obama even when he adopts their ideas (for example, tax cuts in the stimulus bill), the strategy is tempting, but still not likely.
Leave aside that Obama seems temperamentally loathe to shed the bipartisan, “let us reason together” approach that got him elected. The Democratic barons of the Senate, Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D) are largely opposed to the budget reconciliation route which would bypass the Senate rules that require 60 votes to end debate and send a bill to a floor vote. And the political landscape on both health and energy issues still favors Obama.
While liberals fret and conservatives threaten to filibuster, Obama’s notion of comprehensive health care reform still has broad support among the American public, business, and even the insurance industry. Most of the tough decisions about health care reform have yet to be made, but a Capitol Hill consensus around a big expansion in coverage is not implausible. You can be sure the leaders of the post-AIG insurance industry will be striving for at least the appearance of of civic responsibility, which could give reformers more leverage.
Obama’s plans for energy reform to deal with global warming are more detailed and admittedly more problematic. As TWI’s Aaron Wiener points out in his story today, climate change is receding as a concern among economically stressed Americans, but Obama has little choice but to lead on the issue at some point. His budget’s plan for a cap and trade program to limit greenhouse gases is the most serious new idea on the table. True, it was ignored or worse, by John McCain, Judd Gregg and other Senate Republicans who professed to want to lead on the issue only last year. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) told The Times that he expects “massive defections” from moderate Democrats on the cap and trade bill.
But Democratic defections depend on the specifics of the legislation, now being written by Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) House Energy Committee. Waxman’s bill is still weeks away, and Obama has not yet deployed his persuasive powers on the issue.
Democrats want to pressure the GOP into negotiation while Obama wants to keep the hand of bipartisanship open to the few and the brave among Republicans who actually want to cooperate in governing. As with the stimulus program, Obama only needs the support of a few Senate Republicans to prevail in the end, and he still has a fair shot of getting it on health care and climate change. Until the Republicans or nervous Democrats slam the door — which they haven’t done yet on these two issues — Obama seems unlikely to change his strategy.
6 Comments
Comment posted March 17, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources. Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. The cost of fuel effects every facet of consumer goods from production to shipping costs. It costs the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an electric car. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.We have so much available to us such as wind and solar. Let's spend some of those bail out billions and get busy harnessing this energy. Create cheap clean energy, badly needed new jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. What a win-win situation that would be for our nation at large! There is a really good new book out by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Comment posted March 17, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Stay bipartisan? So far this has been the most partisan, not post partisan, President in recent memory. He has blasted Republicans, conservative journalists, CEOs, and anyone of the 44% of the citizens of this nation who disagrees with him and did not vote for him. His supporters know this and the liberal wing is excited about it, the centrists are “strangely silent”, don't you think? Its because they were duped and they have a sinking feeling that they elected Nancy Pelosi as Legislator in Chief with President “not one single earmark” Obama as her rubber stamp. This is the most divisive and partisan President in any of our lifetimes and He makes a mockery of bipartisanship. He is supposed to be President of all of us, not just the 53% that he says gave him such a sweeping mandate to ignore the other half.
Comment posted March 17, 2009 @ 11:32 pm
There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources. Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. The cost of fuel effects every facet of consumer goods from production to shipping costs. It costs the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an electric car. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.We have so much available to us such as wind and solar. Let's spend some of those bail out billions and get busy harnessing this energy. Create cheap clean energy, badly needed new jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. What a win-win situation that would be for our nation at large! There is a really good new book out by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Comment posted March 18, 2009 @ 6:23 am
Stay bipartisan? So far this has been the most partisan, not post partisan, President in recent memory. He has blasted Republicans, conservative journalists, CEOs, and anyone of the 44% of the citizens of this nation who disagrees with him and did not vote for him. His supporters know this and the liberal wing is excited about it, the centrists are “strangely silent”, don't you think? Its because they were duped and they have a sinking feeling that they elected Nancy Pelosi as Legislator in Chief with President “not one single earmark” Obama as her rubber stamp. This is the most divisive and partisan President in any of our lifetimes and He makes a mockery of bipartisanship. He is supposed to be President of all of us, not just the 53% that he says gave him such a sweeping mandate to ignore the other half.
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