This raises the rather serious question, is Obama even CAPABLE of bipartisan cooperation? Or is his idea of bipartisan embodied in his famous "I won" statement right after his election?
To get a possible answer to this, let us look at his comments from a Rhode Island event where he was campaigning for Democrat candidates. He was blasting Republicans again, and came out with this little gem.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101025/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama
"We can't have special interests sitting shotgun. We gotta have middle class families up in front. We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back."
Isn't that a beautiful little quote, there?
I have heard some claiming that it's a racist comment alluding to the "sit-in-the-back" mentality that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott way back in the '50's. Some claim it shows that Obama thinks Republicans are "second-class citizens" with few rights in his eyes. I don't agree... This is nothing more than Obama telling the Republicans that they can't have any say in our government.
So much for bipartisan effort, right? Obama's idea of bipartisanship DOES appear to be Republicans throwing away their beliefs and convictions and voting for whatever Obama puts on the table.
That isn't bipartisanship, and if that's how the Republicans actually ACT next year then they'll face the consequences during the 2012 elections.
So, to answer my own question, no, I don't think he means it, and I'm not sure he IS capable of bipartisan effort. Time will tell, but that's what I'm seeing right now.
I will challenge anyone...to go back over the six years in the Illinois state house or the two years as a US senator...to find a moment of bipartisanship in any project of the President. You just can't find any such moments.
ReplyDeleteSo my prediction. There will be a five-star circus event arranged in mid-January for the Republicans to come over to the White House. Naturally...they will come, and the President will lay out his top ten priorities of 2011. The Republicans will agree on two issues...taxation reform and government downsizing. The other eight will be total disagreement (getting a vote on gays in the military, immigration reform, mortgage reform, etc).
For a brief period of five months...up until the July summer period, there will be a brief and mostly worthless relationship period. Then, like a wrestling event...all hell will break loose, and we are back to full-time campaign efforts by October 2011.
Who will enjoy this greatly? Networks and newspapers...because both will get attack ad's and vote-for-me clips to broadcast.
By March of 2012...most Tea Movement folks will be dismally upset with both parties...but mostly disenchanted with the President. Most southern Democrats admit they'd rather vote for Cam Newton for President than President Obama.
We are merely at the beginning of the storm...rather than the end that we'd imagined.
Personally, I think Obama is trying to set em up. Look, he comes out again big on bipartisanship so that when he FAILS to go along with the GOP issues, he can blame THEM for not being willing to work with HIM.
ReplyDelete