Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beck is a liberal Democratic Strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washington cannot.
Bob: In my 30 years in politics I've never seen the voters as angry or impatient as they are today. Sure, Democrats will take a beating in November, but don't assume that represents only anger at them. This is an anti-incumbent movement, and Republicans should be thankful there are so few of them and hence fewer targets. Both parties suffer historically low approval ratings, but in a bad year for Democrats, Republicans are viewed even worse.
Cal: Agreed. The voters are beyond Republican vs. Democrat, Left, vs. Right. They are angry at everybody, and I think this provides the best opportunity for Republicans to actually govern and begin to fix what has gone wrong, rather than posture and act like they are more politically righteous than the Democrats. Very recent history proves they are not.
Bob: The Republicans would be foolish to jump right in and try to, for instance, repeal President Obama's signature issues like health care and financial reform. It might feel good, but one, they won't have the votes, and two, do they really want to start the next Congress with these political temper tantrums? Such actions also would lead to total paralysis.
Cal: I might be convinced that paralysis is a good thing even given the activism we've been experiencing.
Bob: Obama's best move--politically and practically--would be to meet Republicans somewhere in the middle and be willing to change parts of his agenda. For starters, he could include tort reform as an add-on to the health care law. It's not giving Republicans everything, but it would be a meaningful olive branch and show a willingness to go against the Democrats' trial lawyers base.
Cal: We're not talking Bill Clinton and his triangulation after the 1994 election. This president has shown himself to be a hard-core leftist with an agenda and not a practicing compromiser. What Republicans must do is something similar to what is happening in New Jersey and Virginia with governors telling their people we can't go on like this. In Britain, too, "Common ground" co-prime ministers David Cameron and nick Clegg are making significant cuts in government spending.
Bob: A hard-core leftist? Tell that to the real leftists in this country who think Obama has abandoned them. To your point about Republicans behaving responsibly in other places, that's heart-warming. But Republicans in Congress have not had a long historyof telling the people what they don't want to hear. But there may be a silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud for President Obama.
Cal: Only you could find any silver lining in the coming disaster for the Democrats.
Bob: Obama promised a bipartisan effort at civility when he campaigned for president, but--to put it mildly--it never happened. In my view this was because Republicans wanted Obama to fail from the beginning or because Obama insisted on ramming through his proposals on virtually party line votes--or perhaps both. However one sees it, Obama has a rare chance to make good on his campaign promise. It may look like back-peddling on the president's part, but I see it as a road to common ground if only for his survival.
Cal: The public doesn't care about politicians "surviving." They care more about their own survival. New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote last week about "the paralysis of the state." Brooks noted that many states can no longer afford useful projects because of deals they've made with unions "that drain money from productive ones." New Jersey, he points out, "can't afford to build (a train) tunnel, but benefits packages for the state's employees are 41% more expensive than those offered by the average Fortune 500 company. These benefits costs are rising by 16% a year." The public is receptive to reducing these kinds of costs.
Bob: And they're receptive to responsible and civil government, too. Pew Research asked a question in April of last year whether people thought Democrats and Republicans have been bickering more in Congress. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans, 55% of Democrats and 50% of independents thought so. In the same question asked this month, 80% of Democrats and Republicans agreed, while 78% of independents agreed. That's a staggering rejection of the Washington mess. If both sides made a serious effort at compromise, the voters would reward them. If not, their time in office will be very short.
Cal: After every presidential election, the pundits look at the final tally of votes and decree whether the incoming commander in chief has that all-important "mandate." Well let me say this, the American people have already provided a mandate for this election: Get America's fiscal house in order, and do it in a civil way. That's it. The rest is background noise. Consider it, "It's the economy, stupid: Version 2010."
Bob: Congress is paralyzed because special interest money has a stake in the status quo. And the money load we're seeing in this election is proof that all is alive and well in the world of peddling influence. Much of this comes from stealth contributors who are not forced to report until late 2010. This Supreme Court is too partisan to stop this atrocity. But once again, it gives Obama a chance to open the process up and make his contributors transparent while challenging the GOP to do the same.
Cal: That awful Supreme Court, allowing the First Amendment to be the law of the land. Just terrible. That's not where the real problem lies, Bob. And with nearly 10% unemployment, the only people wringing their hands over that court decision are embattled Demcorats and think tank fixtures. What a sideshow! It's what happens after people are elected that's the problem. I have to say, though, I wonder why Democrats aren't this interested in finding out where the unions' cash is being collected.
Bob: Let's get back to the meat of the matter: Spending and our nation's dysfunctional fiscal situation. In any polling you can find, the economy is where the people's minds are. It's about jobs. It's about spending. It's about the trajectory. Democrats and Republicans have a historically unique situation here--especially those new to Washington. They can be a part of a Congress that puts the United States on a fiscally sustainable path. The path we're on right now ends in a ditch.
Cal: You're right, and the solution doesn't have to be a partisan solution. It really doesn't. Republicans and Democrats--especially the incoming freshmen--can start anew in this Congress. Show up and stand up. There is a residual strain of that old Puritan ethic left in America that could be revived with the right type of leadership. That ethic says: live within your means, avoid debt, don't covet. A political leader who lived by that example might persuade the rest of us to follow him (or her) into national solvency, which would strengthen this country far beyond its military might.
Bob: So we're going to hope political Washington can change?
Cal: I think we've had enough "hope" and "change." At this point, I think the American people would settle for "competent."
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