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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Marc Dunkelman
Historical cycle snapped -- the fix may determine who runs Washington
For all of President Obama's attempts to work
collaboratively across the aisle -- forging a compromise on the
recovery package, slowing health reform to accommodate the
"Gang of Six," engaging most recently in a frank exchange with
the House Republican Caucus -- Republicans have remained largely
dogged in their opposition to the administration's agenda. But
tempting as it may be to blame the
Nearly 20 years ago, Yale political scientist Stephen Skowronek outlined a theory of American politics that divided the nation's history into successive cycles.
Each cycle had begun, he argued, when one
party emerged with a common mission buoyed by a broad
coalition. For the decades that followed, that party would
dominate Washington, prevailing most
frequently in presidential contests, and maintaining a near
iron grip on
More recently, however, the steady rhythm of political time has become something of a cacophony.
No president since
Ronald Reagan has been succeeded by a member
of his same party. Despite Karl Rove's
scheming, Republican dreams of a long-term governing majority
were demolished in 2006. And while many hoped President
Obama's victory would mark the beginning of a new political
dynasty, Scott Brown's recent victory in
Massachusetts has left many wondering
whether the Democratic majorities on
Note just how dramatically the political landscape has evolved.
Neither party today can claim a base of support so deep as to insulate it from the setbacks of a single off-year campaign. Neither has the sort of hold on Washington that the New Deal coalition enjoyed through the decades following World War II, or that Republicans maintained through the gilded age. The era of long-term governing majorities, it seems, has come to an end.
That dramatic shift has upended the incentive which once drove bipartisan cooperation. When minority parties have little hope of ascending to power -- as was once the case -- caucus members are apt to view collaboration as the only way to affect policy. When a majority feels insulated from defeat, its members have fewer reasons to reject good ideas from across the aisle.
But today, with control of
All that said, most members still come to Washington hoping to legislate good policy. Most bristle at the straitjacket of partisanship. President Clinton, for example, worked to incorporate conservative ideas into his policy agenda even as Republicans were working to throw him out of office. Because that sort of rancor persists, it is time we look at bipartisanship through a new lens.
Already, the Obama administration has taken great pains to
embrace parts of the
If that is not evidence of collaboration amid the new landscape, what else can anyone demand? If Republicans are willing to vote against their own proposals, how will congressional votes remain proxies for bipartisan collaboration? No matter how senators from either party vote, if a bill incorporates the best ideas from each side of the aisle, its champions should be credited for their willingness to reach out. And that should be the new standard of bipartisanship.
The fundamental changes that have upended political time
may be here to stay, but the new architecture need not prevent
members of
Marc Dunkelman is vice president of the
Available at Amazon.com:
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
AMERICAN POLITICS
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Bipartisanship Broken Despite Obama's Efforts, but There's Hope | Marc Dunkelman
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