I could not help but notice that the President’s approach to bi- (or post-) partisanship with regard to the stimulus (aka jobs) bill resembled a high-stakes game of Green Eggs and Ham. Barak Obama cast in the role of Sam-I-Am offered a sequence of compromises for the curmudgeon (Congressional Republicans) to get them to swallow the chartreuse breakfast (the aforementioned bill). Will you pass it with a fork? Will you pass it with some pork? Will it take a tax-cut lump? Or should we take out worker’s comp? Like the timeless Seuss classic most of the words have been about what the Republicans don't like, and ultimately they don’t like the thing itself – government spending on popular social programs like schools and family planning.
In the story the curmudgeon ultimately succumbs to the overtures of the always optimistic Sam-I-Am and actually tastes the item he claims to despise. Thus converted he sings a grand mea-culpa of how he will support the stimulus – er, rather eat the food – here, there and anywhere. But is this brilliant piece of children’s literature a realistic model for modern bi-partisanship?
Evidence so far points to “no”. The President’s overtures – and we learned in his press conference that offering Gregg a cabinet position was explicitly a bi-partisan overture – have netted him something between zero and three Republican votes. Of course it takes only freshman-level political calculus to see that this is the approach that congressional Republicans must and will take. The question is, can Obama get anything beyond harsh obstructionism?
I suppose it’s possible. While unlikely I suppose that moderate Republicans could taste the green eggs and ham – progressive policies – and see how those could advantage them in future elections. Or they could just become Democrats. More likely though, is that they could see their popularity fall in proportion to how much they obstruct and reject not only a popular but also a demonstrably correct administration. This means that bipartisanship must remain at best a velvet glove around an iron fist of committed policy. What we can learn from Sam-I-Am is that no matter how the curmudgeon ranted, the narrative was always under Sam’s control and he never faltered in his calm determination. Fundamentally Obama must always keep the debate under his terms.
- jack*
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