Bi-Partisanship Crumbles
As a general rule of thumb, I like bi-partisanship. I think it is healthy for a democracy. Healthy for government. And most of all, beneficial for the American people. We live in incredibly polarizing times, so it’s essential to be reminded that people across the political aisle can come together to work towards a common goal.
Good things can happen when both parties work together. For example, the creation of NASA in 1958 resulted from Democrats and Republicans responding to the Soviet’s Sputnik 1. And ironically enough, the Senate and House of Representatives were born out of The Great Compromise of 1787.
However, this does not mean all bi-partisan negotiations are created equal.
For months now, a group of Senate Republicans and Democrats have been working on crafting a bipartisan infrastructure package. Finally, on Thursday, the negotiating team, along with Biden, announced it to be complete. With the president saying, “They have my word. I’ll stick with what we’ve proposed, and they’ve given me their word as well.”
I suppose President Biden’s word doesn’t mean a whole lot.
Just mere hours after expressing his complete support for the infrastructure deal, Biden spoke at a private press conference and effectively eliminated all chances of the bill passing. He did this by declaring that he would only sign the bi-partisan proposal if Congress passed another infrastructure bill through reconciliation, which doesn’t need any Republican support.
Thanks to Biden, the bi-partisan agreement is now held hostage to the second bill that Republicans will never vote in favor of. This begs the question. Why should Republicans even vote for the original infrastructure deal if, in return, they will be clobbered over the head with a massive liberal spending spree disguised as infrastructure?
They shouldn’t. The point of compromise is that neither side gets everything they want, but in the end, everyone gets something. Putting everything you lost into a separate bill and passing it through reconciliation is not a compromise. If the Democrats are going to treat the two bills as mutually inclusive, then the Republicans should do the same and vote against both measures.
Throughout American history, bi-partisanship has been a powerful force for progress, but only when it’s done in good faith. Certainly not to be treated as a silly parlor game. Unfortunately, what was once shaping up to be a significant achievement for both political parties has degenerated into the partisan fighting we are all too familiar with.
