The Trouble We're In
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Gary [email protected]
They chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate.
After being chosen, Lincoln gave his famous “house divided” speech.
An excerpt:
In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
I think we could probably apply those words to modern-day America, only replace “half slave and half free” with half Democrat and half Republican.
I know there always has been divisiveness in politics. But it seems to me the division is so great today that it threatens the ability to govern.
It wasn’t that long ago that lawmakers from both parties worked together.
When Bill Clinton was in office, he and House Speaker Newt Gingrich – along with the majority Republican party in Congress – got lots of things done – welfare reform, financial reform, sweeping gun safety legislation including background checks, don’t ask don’t tell, a myriad of tax cuts, education reform, Pell Grants, Family and Medical Leave Act and lots more.
I know what you’re saying. “Yeah, but I disagree with half of that stuff.”
Exactly.
That’s precisely the point. Policies from both sides of the aisle were tweaked by compromise and passed into law.
The result?
That crew oversaw the largest economic expansion in history, the lowest unemployment rate, the smallest welfare rolls in decades, the lowest poverty rate in decades and higher income at all levels.
Know what else they did?
They balanced the budget, converting the largest budget deficit in American history into the largest budget surplus.
Want to read something sad?
When Clinton left office, the nation was on track to pay off the entire national debt by 2009.
Reread that last paragraph. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Instead, a couple of lengthy wars, a few giant new government programs and a housing collapse later, look where we are today – $19 trillion in debt.
Clinton and his Congress passed the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Clinton also called for the surplus to be used to shore up Social Security and Medicare and reduce debt.
Under Clinton, government spending as a share of the economy decreased from 22.2 percent in 1992 to 18.5 percent in 2000.
Remember, Clinton was a Democrat and Speaker Gingrich was a Republican.
How was all this possible? Pretty simple. Republicans and Democrats worked together.
All the good policy ideas come from the middle of the political spectrum. You propose something well left or well right of center, then you compromise with the other side to come up with something that works – something that’s good for the country.
I see little of that these days. What I do see is partisan rancor and rank hypocrisy.
There are tons of examples. Here, check out this quote:
"It is my view that if the president ... presses an election year nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over. Some will criticize such a decision and say that it is nothing more than an attempt to save a seat on the court in hopes that a (insert political party) would be able to fill it. Instead, it would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is under way (and it is) action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and essential to the process. Otherwise, it seems to me ... we will be in deep trouble as an institution."
That’s U.S. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell enraging Democrats this past week, right?
Wrong.
That was Vice President Joe Biden back in 1992 when he was a U.S. Senator. He was enraging Republicans by objecting to a hypothetical Supreme Court vacancy that would have been filled by George H.W. Bush.
Problem is, the U.S. Constitution spells out precisely what needs to be done. Why not just do that?
I’ll tell you why. It’s politics. It’s just one great big bowl of wrong. It has been for a long time and it’s getting worse. It’s getting worse and we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
In the last couple of election cycles, I was looking at voter turnout. It was abysmal, especially in primary elections.
So what?
Well, when you have 10 percent of registered voters showing up for a primary election, they are undoubtedly the most ideologically motivated people. The ones farthest to the right or left.
Remember, that’s 10 percent of registered voters. If only half of eligible voters are registered, that means around 5 percent of the people being governed are choosing who will be on the ballot in the general election.
What type of candidate can win in that primary election atmosphere?
A moderate? Someone willing to compromise?
No way.
Only the most ideologically pure candidate can get elected, because only the most ideologically pure voters are showing up at the polls.
So after the primary, somebody pretty far left and somebody pretty far right make it onto the general election ballot.
One way or another, an ideologue is headed to Washington. And right now, Congress is filling up with them.
No compromise. No moderation. All or nothing. All divided.
That doesn’t bode well for the future of our nation because, well, Abe Lincoln said it best.[[In-content Ad]]
They chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate.
After being chosen, Lincoln gave his famous “house divided” speech.
An excerpt:
In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
I think we could probably apply those words to modern-day America, only replace “half slave and half free” with half Democrat and half Republican.
I know there always has been divisiveness in politics. But it seems to me the division is so great today that it threatens the ability to govern.
It wasn’t that long ago that lawmakers from both parties worked together.
When Bill Clinton was in office, he and House Speaker Newt Gingrich – along with the majority Republican party in Congress – got lots of things done – welfare reform, financial reform, sweeping gun safety legislation including background checks, don’t ask don’t tell, a myriad of tax cuts, education reform, Pell Grants, Family and Medical Leave Act and lots more.
I know what you’re saying. “Yeah, but I disagree with half of that stuff.”
Exactly.
That’s precisely the point. Policies from both sides of the aisle were tweaked by compromise and passed into law.
The result?
That crew oversaw the largest economic expansion in history, the lowest unemployment rate, the smallest welfare rolls in decades, the lowest poverty rate in decades and higher income at all levels.
Know what else they did?
They balanced the budget, converting the largest budget deficit in American history into the largest budget surplus.
Want to read something sad?
When Clinton left office, the nation was on track to pay off the entire national debt by 2009.
Reread that last paragraph. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Instead, a couple of lengthy wars, a few giant new government programs and a housing collapse later, look where we are today – $19 trillion in debt.
Clinton and his Congress passed the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Clinton also called for the surplus to be used to shore up Social Security and Medicare and reduce debt.
Under Clinton, government spending as a share of the economy decreased from 22.2 percent in 1992 to 18.5 percent in 2000.
Remember, Clinton was a Democrat and Speaker Gingrich was a Republican.
How was all this possible? Pretty simple. Republicans and Democrats worked together.
All the good policy ideas come from the middle of the political spectrum. You propose something well left or well right of center, then you compromise with the other side to come up with something that works – something that’s good for the country.
I see little of that these days. What I do see is partisan rancor and rank hypocrisy.
There are tons of examples. Here, check out this quote:
"It is my view that if the president ... presses an election year nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over. Some will criticize such a decision and say that it is nothing more than an attempt to save a seat on the court in hopes that a (insert political party) would be able to fill it. Instead, it would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is under way (and it is) action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and essential to the process. Otherwise, it seems to me ... we will be in deep trouble as an institution."
That’s U.S. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell enraging Democrats this past week, right?
Wrong.
That was Vice President Joe Biden back in 1992 when he was a U.S. Senator. He was enraging Republicans by objecting to a hypothetical Supreme Court vacancy that would have been filled by George H.W. Bush.
Problem is, the U.S. Constitution spells out precisely what needs to be done. Why not just do that?
I’ll tell you why. It’s politics. It’s just one great big bowl of wrong. It has been for a long time and it’s getting worse. It’s getting worse and we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
In the last couple of election cycles, I was looking at voter turnout. It was abysmal, especially in primary elections.
So what?
Well, when you have 10 percent of registered voters showing up for a primary election, they are undoubtedly the most ideologically motivated people. The ones farthest to the right or left.
Remember, that’s 10 percent of registered voters. If only half of eligible voters are registered, that means around 5 percent of the people being governed are choosing who will be on the ballot in the general election.
What type of candidate can win in that primary election atmosphere?
A moderate? Someone willing to compromise?
No way.
Only the most ideologically pure candidate can get elected, because only the most ideologically pure voters are showing up at the polls.
So after the primary, somebody pretty far left and somebody pretty far right make it onto the general election ballot.
One way or another, an ideologue is headed to Washington. And right now, Congress is filling up with them.
No compromise. No moderation. All or nothing. All divided.
That doesn’t bode well for the future of our nation because, well, Abe Lincoln said it best.[[In-content Ad]]
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