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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Jules Witcover
After more than a year of Republicans in
The president in his health-care reform "summit"
took note of a "glimpse" of bipartisanship in the
In the same forum, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited
a "blaze" of bipartisanship in a House vote of 406-19, with
most Republicans joining all Democrats, to repeal the insurance
companies' exemption from antitrust laws. Both votes may be no more than
an aberration. But they also could be the harbinger of a breakthrough,
if the Republicans in
The five
Meanwhile, the more significant test of such Republican cooperation will be the fallout of the bipartisan "summit" meeting on health-care reform at Blair House chaired by the president. Obama's willingness to give the Republican leaders that nationally televised forum to offer their alternatives could strengthen his hand, especially if the Republican proposals offered are widely seen as obstructionist or excessively ideological.
And if Republican senators eventually deny Obama the few votes needed for the super-majority to override a health-care filibuster, there are indications the Democrats may now be ready to resort to the parliamentary escape hatch available to push the legislation through with a simple majority.
Talk is increasing on
The first Republican to speak at length at the health-care summit, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, cited Obama himself and other Democrats earlier regarding the downside of unharnessed majority rule. He called on Obama to abandon the reconciliation tactic, but was rebuffed by Democrats arguing that voters want reform, not debates on political process.
In any event, the political risk to Obama of appearing to be an inept leader cannot be underestimated if he fails to achieve the primary legislative goal to which he devoted his first year in office. He needs to employ whatever means are available to him now to get it, and then to move on to other challenges with enhanced leadership credibility.
In response to the Republican chorus that the stimulus package has
been a waste of money, and that the intended economic recovery has not
happened, Obama has been busy citing various economic indicators of
progress. The longer the president can offer statistical evidence from
the Congressional Budget Office that recovery is creeping along, he can
justify calling for public patience a while longer. Most recently, the
The passage of a jobs-creation bill, no matter how modest, will be
his best counter to the 9.7 percent unemployment rate that stubbornly
declines to drop. The Republican leaders in
Available at Amazon.com:
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
AMERICAN POLITICS
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Bipartisanship at Last? | Jules Witcover
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