David Broder had a good column in today's paper that explained that even though the Democrats now had a filibuster-proof majority with the election of Al Franken to the Senate, they shouldn't go it alone without Republicans.
I have to agree.
Yes, now that the Dems have reached the magic number of 60, they could theoretically pass anything they wanted over Republican objections, but that is not practical nor is it reasonable.
For one, the Dems would have to stay absolutely in lock-step with each other for them to go it alone. Second, they would all have to stay healthy, and two of their Senators, Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd are ailing.
Third, the achievement of absolute rule over a minority is not the aim (or shouldn't be) of American politics. We went through six years in which not only was the government tightly controlled by the GOP, but was tightly control by a small, petty faction within the GOP.
We don't need to see the government once again ruled by one party who plays hardball to the point that the other side cannot breathe.
Politics should be dynamic, with room to include ideas from all sides to make deals and shape a legislation that has the interests of common good in mind. You can't do that if you have shut out an entire political party.
It was through a perfect storm of political good luck that the Democrats have been able to seize so much power. However, the American public did not shift so far to the left to make it possible. The Dems just made a strong enough argument to the middle that the public bought it.
Conservatives, moderates and liberals/progressives still hold the same ratios within the electorate, and they will all be watching the Democrats who have taken charge and judge whether they rule with compassion and reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment