 |
| "I like a good party" (not especially relevant, but thought it was funny) |
Yes, this is definite progress for bipartisan cooperation. However, the same White House official said that "These are just conversations... Getting from there to a deal is hard." We've already seen evidence of bipartisanship when it comes to immigration reform, but gun control has seen less than an equal share of the same bipartisanship. Perhaps cooperation concerning immigration was little more than a rational choice by Republicans, made in order to survive. Clearly Republicans have been making great efforts to appeal to Latino voters. Immigration reform is evidence of the fact by itself, but Marco Rubio's meteoric rise to fame is further proof of an attempt to gain favor with Latinos.
 |
| Senator Lindsey Graham is a proven supporter of gun rights |
Now, back to Obama's Senate "party".... Who attended this crucial dinner? The guest list consisted entirely of Republican Senators, most of which were rank-and-file Republicans that Obama has not spent much time communicating with. These legislators were Saxby Chambliss (GA), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Dan Coats (IN), Tom Coburn (OK), Richard Burr (NC), Mike Johanns (NE), Pat Toomey (PA), John Hoeven (ND), Bob Corker (TN), Ron Johnson (WI), John McCain (AZ), and Lindsey Graham (SC). The most high profile of these Senators are former presidential nominee, John McCain, and outspoken Obama critic Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham is more recently known, however, for his proposed gun legislation that focuses on the mentally ill. The NRA has given him an "A" rating, clearly showing his pro-gun views. His presence at the dinner indicates that gun control is extremely likely to be a topic of discussion.
FOX News' article, however, presents a somewhat negative outlook on this dinner, claiming in the headline that "Obama goes around GOP leaders." True to FOX's notorious reputation of criticizing Obama, the article continues on to include a few irrelevant points. Among others, Obama is supporting "janitors... seeing a pay cut." How this is even related to this dinner, I have no clue. In this case, the NBC article on the subject, didn't present very much, if any, anti-Republican sentiment.
Just before I was about to publish this post, it was revealed that:
"At the top of the dinner's agenda was the possibility of a grand bargain combining entitlement reforms with lowering tax rates and closing loopholes that would head off the sequester and tackle some of the country's worst budget woes."
What effects do you think this dinner has on bipartisan cooperation, short term and long term? Will we see a spike in bipartisanship in the coming weeks? Is this, and the previous immigration reform cooperation, evidence of an upcoming period of bipartisanship? Does Obama like a good party?
5 comments:
Whether it will prove beneficial or not in the long run, this dinner was a refreshing step towards cooperation among Republicans and the President. When attempting to undermine one another's arguments, it is difficult for these parties, I imagine, to genuinely listen to one another. Party loyalty threatens to diminish the desire to listen to these arguments objectively (or as objectively as possible). I would think that the informality of a dinner (as compared to an official meeting) would provide a more relaxed atmosphere in which the objective is not to win every argument, but to contribute thoughts. Also, I'm glad to see an actual move towards bipartisanship rather than just another call for it.
I'm glad that the two sides are trying to cooperate. The NBC article makes it sound like they all just had a pleasant and enjoyable dinner. I wonder if they're just saying that to be nice politicians or if they actually had a good time. Then, I wonder, if they actually had a good time, did they get any work done? Regardless, it's good that the president is making moves to reach out to the other side.
I agree with Paniz and Tina in that it's nice to see the president taking the steps to talk to people from the other side of the political spectrum. However, I can't help but feel that some Republicans may just think, "Oh, there's the president. He's just going through the motions to make himself look good." Although there are certainly many positive intentions by having this meeting, it could potentially erupt into something very damaging as well... I full on support what the president is trying to do, but one has to admit... his selection of people was very, very intentional and strategic. It'll be interesting to see if this really does result in a more cooperative/more open to compromising senate.
Additionally, I don't think a single dinner party will lead to an era of bipartisanship, but it's nice to at least know that politicians can sit down and have a civilized meal with each other...
I agree with what everyone else has said so far--it's great that efforts are being made to work towards bipartisanship. Even if the dinner alone may not have been very significant in practice (as Abby said, it's not enough to usher in an era of bipartisanship), it was a wonderful symbol of the ability for members of different parties to get along. It may be a step towards Republicans and Democrats recognizing each other as relatable people instead of as enemies, which must happen before any kind of party cooperation can realistically occur.
Allow me to be the pessimist in all this optimism. Put bluntly, this "party" means absolutely nothing in the long run for bipartisanship. It would be nice if Obama could just talk the Republicans into agreeing with him, but that hasn't worked out too well in years. Just a while ago, we couldn't even put together a last minute compromise to effectively deal with the sequester cuts.
In the short term, I'm sure both parties would be glad to take a break with one another for a while. Then they'll be right back to biting each other's heads off. We've seen it before and we'll see it again. If only producers could create a product that would increase bipartisanship. That'd definitely be in demand.
Obama can talk about these policies but that doesn't mean the Republicans will suddenly take a 180 degree chance in opinion.
I don't want to sound like a somber cynical critic, but we shouldn't get our hopes up. I suspect there will be tough conflicts ahead for America. I also suspect that it'll take something truly revolutionary to bring the two parties together.
Post a Comment