Laurel Sitting
There is an old political saw: “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”. It’s one of the basic definitions of politics. It takes more than one to get anything done. Cooperation is the essence of political activity. That might sound confusing: competition is also a political essence; competing candidates and views vying for the voter support. Even within political parties, competitions are held to determine who will “win” the right to compete with the other party in the general election. But once the competitions, the elections, are over; politicians aren’t just supposed to win and sit on their…laurels. They are supposed to try to accomplish what they promised the voters to do.
And for most political activity, from school boards to the United States Congress, it takes cooperation to get anything done.
Now in some alternate Greek philosophic world, legislative bodies would discuss the pros and cons of a particular action, reach a consensus based on the “best idea”, and vote for it. But in the real world, some folks will never be persuaded by “high falutin’ debates”. They require persuasion of a different sort. As opposed to Socratic debate in the Agora, these folks are more interested in the more mundane task of “horse trading”. That’s a very basic idea: you need my vote to pass your idea, and I need your vote to pass mine, let’s trade. It’s “back scratching” in the most basic sense.
Cross the Aisle
One of the reasons that our current political life is so complicated, is that “back scratching” has become a political liability. Our divisions are so deep and wide, that to cross the chasm to “make a deal” has become a mark of political treason. Whatever you think of the “fence straddlers”, like Fetterman in the Senate, or Massie in the House, they both are paying a huge political price for taking positions with the other side. Massie won’t be back in January, and Democrats are lining up to challenge Fetterman in 2028.
(Before you write Fetterman off as a “hulk” in a hoodie and gym shorts, here’s a fact. He has two Masters degrees, an MBA from the University of Connecticut, and Masters in Public Policy from Harvard. He ain’t dumb, at least not academically!!).
President Trump historically has been able to avoid the “back scratching” routine. His indisputable power over the MAGA voter, the “controlling interest” in most Republican primaries, exempts him from returning favors. His model is: fall in line with me, or I’ll find someone else who will. It’s been demonstrated over and over again this primary season. From the Indiana state Senators to Tom Massie in the House of Representatives, to Nancy Mace in the South Carolina Governor’s race, to Republican Senators Tillis, Cornyn, and Cassidy, Trump “primaried them”. They all opposed him at some point, and now they are all looking to the end of their political careers.
Narrow Margins
But there is a flaw in the authoritarian Trump model. As much as he would like to govern by simple fiat (executive orders), there are still areas where the President needs to have Congress “pass a law”. While both Republicans claim (and Democrats concede) that the GOP controls all three branches of government; the Republican hold on the Congress is tenuous. Should five of 435 Congressmen, or four of 100 Senators, switch their vote from the Republican side to the Democratic side, Republican propositions will fail.
For the remainder of 2026, there are (at least) the three Republican US Senators who have nothing left to lose. Add to them Joni Ernst from Iowa, and “good old” Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, both retiring, and the “regular swing Republicans”, Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski; and there may well be a clear majority against the President’s needs.
No one is scratching their backs.
Gerrymander
So who do we blame for this – Donald Trump? He is a big part of the national inability to get things done. But there is an even greater reason for legislative inaction across the political spectrum: Gerrymandering. Legislative districts are drawn intentionally to include a greater preponderance of one political party (or the other). That results in less value in appealing to the “middle” of the political spectrum. Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, my District and Congressman, is a clear example of this.
Prior to the 2022 re-districting, the 12th included a part of the City of Columbus, and the “purple trending” suburban areas of Delaware county; in addition to heavily Republican Licking and Muskingum counties. It was Republican, but a “close” district. In a 2018 special election, the Democrat came within 2000 votes of winning. But re-districting carved the “Democrat” out of the 12th, with Columbus and the Delaware suburbs moved into other Districts, and more Red rural counties added.
Now, Republican Congressman Troy Balderson has no need to reach across the aisle. In fact, he faces a great deal of pressure to “stay loyal” and “stay in-line”. After all, there’s always a more “MAGA” candidate out there somewhere should he stray from the Trump line. The city of Zanesville seems to have an endless supply.
Want to fix dis-functional legislatures? It’s not about “Making America Great Again”. The new slogan should be, “Make Elections Competitive Again” (MECA – well that acronym might cause a stir!!). Put political value back in problem solving and cooperation, and, politicians might problem solve and cooperate – who’d have “thunk” it?
It’s just takes a little scratching.
