What's Wrong With Congress Today: Part Four: Bipartisanship
Even as President Obama unveils a new bipartisan economic council, even as Congressional leaders prepare for the two-party health care summit, bipartisanship- or lack thereof- is a serious concern of many members of Congress. The Republicans say they are ignored in the legislative process. Democrats retaliate, saying Republicans offer no solutions- a "party of no". Neither party seems willing to compromise at the same time. One party gives up an ideal as a concession, but the other offers no votes. One offers a plan, while the other ignores the ideas.
American government has no future if it is not a bipartisan one. However, in order for bipartisan compromise to happen, both parties must be willing to work together, and both must be willing to leave with a little less than they wanted. Bipartisanship is not something that can happen because one party offers it, nor is it something that can happen because another party demands it. As Democrats and Republicans test their already tenuous relationship with new demands but no concessions, it seems as though bipartisanship has no future in America.
For a long time, until the seating of Senator Scott Brown, the Democratic caucus could have acted completely in a partisan manner and ignored the opinions and viewpoints of the Republican caucus. However, Democrats did include many key Republican demands in both pieces of major legislation: the stimulus bill and the health care reform bill. Neither bill, however, received a single Republican vote in the Senate. Democrats also minimized their ideals, keeping the public option out of the Senate health care bill and keeping the stimulus package as a tax-cut heavy, infrastructure spending light bill.
Still, not only Republicans are to blame for the complete void of bipartisanship in the Senate. Democrats, at times, have been all too willing to move forward without Republican support.
Although it is the responsibility of both parties to work towards bipartisanship, considering the current climate in the Senate, it is appropriate for the Democratic caucus to move forward with reconciliation if the Republican Party doesn’t not express willingness to work in a bipartisan manner at the health care summit.
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