Insurrection
On January 6th of this year, 2021, a mob of Americans attacked the United States Congress in the Capitol. They stopped the certification of the 2020 election temporarily, at the behest of the losing incumbent President. The entire nation watched as they defiled the Capitol building, invaded the leadership offices and attacked the Capitol Police. Two officers lost their lives as a result, as well as five of those involved in what we now call “the Insurrection”.
It was only four months ago, ninety-six days.
In the aftermath there was actually some rays of “hope”. Even Republican leaders like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy seemed at first to be as shocked and appalled as the rest of the nation. Perhaps out of the tragedy of the Insurrection there could be some movement towards a return to cooperation in government. Perhaps the raw realization of the divisions that two decades of “wedge” politics created might somehow generate – common sense.
Who’s Fault
It’s easy to blame politicians. But for many of them, the phrase from the French Revolution, “There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader,” was reality. They seemed powerless to move beyond the mindset of their constituents. But here in my small suburban community there were signs of healing. Some folks who seemed irrevocably divided by the political debate began to, gingerly, talk again. But others, now without the “support” of the former President in office, seem more entrenched in their polarization.
For those willing to reach out, there seemed to be as many others so poisoned that there was no “cure”. On one porch in our community still hangs a banner: “F**K Biden, and F**K you for voting for him”. Little kids ride by on bicycles, and have difficult conversations with their parents. It‘s hard to see how we come back from that.
Presidential Choice
President Biden is faced with a choice. He knows that these first few months are the peak of his political power. And he’s taking that power “out for a spin”, first with the massive COVID relief package, and now with the “Infrastructure” package. With COVID it was clear that there was little “wiggle room” for compromise, and when the “moderate” Republicans countered with a proposal less than a third of the cost, that became the “non-starter” that led to a Democrat only bill. Biden moved on without them.
Joe Biden is a “man of the Senate”, a man willing to compromise. And “infrastructure” is by definition open to that compromise. The President has emphasized again and again that his proposal is the “beginning”, and that he totally expects the “end” to be very different. But “en bloc” the entire Republican delegation to Congress has vowed to vote against a bill they haven’t even seen yet. They don’t accept the possibility of negotiation, of the use of that now pornographic word – “compromise”.
Herding Cats
And there are those on the Democratic side who feel that way as well. They demand that there is no need to compromise. Just line the Democrats up, and let’s take a vote. There is a problem with that strategy. Herding Democrats is akin to herding cats – no two are going in the same direction. To expect Democratic members of Congress, and particularly Senators, to line up, salute, and march is probably too much.
So there’s going to need to be compromise there too, both with the Democrats of the left, and especially with those “Blue Dog” Democrats who are elected from deep Red States. My fellow “Progressive” Democrats, if you expect to keep a majority, you’ve got to give the Manchin’s and the Sinema’s and the Tester’s of this world some room to breathe. You live in a “big tent”, it’s got a left, right and middle. That doesn’t mean Sanders, Warren, and AOC should be ignored. Since Republicans won’t budge, there still will need to be negotiate within the Party.
Old Concept
And from Republicans, expect no help. Even if the vast majority of Americans support the infrastructure bill, Democrats and Republicans alike, that isn’t the constituency the Republican Party in Washington represents. That Party is worried about one group of voters only: The Republican primary voter. And that group is solidly behind one man, no longer in office. Guess who?
Folks of a “certain age” (think eligible or receiving Medicare) look for a “return to normalcy”. They know what that means – a time when the political parties could find a way to cooperate. Sure Ronald Reagan was an extremist, but he could still work with the Democratic Speaker, Tip O’Neil. Yes Bill Clinton was a Democrat. But many of his proposals were “Republican-lite”. He was even able to make a deal with Newt Gingrich.
And Joe Biden (also of that certain age) knows exactly what they are talking about. But to use a very old phrase, “it takes two to tango”. And we aren’t dancing in Washington, DC today. We are lining up in battle lines, ready to fight.
Biden is showing he can do that too.
