The aftermath of the Massachusetts Senate election is nothing short of depressing.
If the reactions of my friends from Massachusetts who are active in Democratic politics are any indication, there will be a long round of internal fighting and recriminations within the party – she was a horrible candidate, they ran the worst campaign ever, etc. – and some of that may be true. But dwelling on it won’t help and I’m afraid John Kerry was prescient when he warned against the infighting by alluding to one of my favorite descriptions of the Democratic Party. Mo Udall once said that whenever the Democrats want to form a firing squad they first get into a circle. Let the circling begin.
As someone who probably fits best with some of the generation before me – the last of the Roosevelt liberals – I am not happy about the campaign’s ideological impact on the Senate, but leaving the politics of the campaign aside, I’m really more bothered as dispute resolution professional.
Most of the time, when the Senate is at all functional, disputes are settled and legislation is crafted through a series of compromises that produces legislation guaranteed to totally please no one – but things do get done.
In the best of times, it is actually possible to identify interests on both sides that can get served in legislation created by consensus.
From the outside, it would appear that the Republican strategy and platform at the moment is simply, “We are the Party that will make sure Obama can’t do anything.” As an indication of this, I would simply point to the incessant chanting of “for-ty one, for-ty one,” at Brown’s victory party. It seems that creating gridlock by breaking the Democratic “super majority” was the most important element of his campaign. It worked as a strategy, and I think that ensures that the Republicans will ride that horse all the way through the mid-term elections, and that basically nothing will get done legislatively for the foreseeable future. The Democrats may find a way to pass health care reform, but they’ll have to contort the reform so much to get it past the Republicans that it almost surely will become election fodder in the next couple of election cycles.
As someone who tries to make a living out of resolving conflict, or at least helping people live constructively amid conflict, this is not a happy moment.
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5 comments:
happy new year............................................................
A recent commentary mentioned China's amazing progress, perhaps because of their blend of democracy, capitalism, and a 'benevolent dictator.'
Have you ever recommended this option for states or entities who cannot come to resolution? Of course, then you'd have to work out the criteria to choose the 'benevolent' one!
Thank God there are still FDR era liberals alive and well and upholding the cause. My parents in NYC are amongst this august group of forward thinkers. The torch was passed to a new generation of practicing Democrats many years ago.
FDR and LBJ knew how to articulate their ideas with a healthy mixture of arm twisting and behind the scenes influence peddling. I am confident that President Obama has heard this advice from his closest advisors and much wiser people than I. He either possesses these street fighter instincts or not.
It is tough to learn these tactics on the fly. Even the school of hard knocks is an expensive and unforgiving teacher. I am coming to the conclusion that President Obama is not by nature a political pugilist. This is a shame because he has so many admirable qualities. He does not need to get along with everyone and build a consensus. The president's dilemna is akin to Harold Washington's when he was the Mayor of Chicago. The Chicago City Council did everything in their power to block his ability to govern the city whether or not his ideas were worthy or not. He was paralyzed in office.
Many Dems who voted for the president are dismayed that his power in the Congress appears to be slipping away from him. It is further frustrating that the do nothing Republicans are gaining at his expense. The hope of Grant Park is now a very distant memory. Will it ever return to fulfill our aspirations for a better tomorrow?
JCT
The notion of 'book smart' versus 'street smart' strikes my mind. Certainly Obama has proven his expertise at the former, however, is he capable of developing the latter?
Behind-the-scenes 'encouragement' seems to be the way to play the game, and we need Obama to get in the game. Transparency is just a myth anyway.
^^ 謝謝你的分享，祝你生活永遠多彩多姿！........................................
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