Washington Needs to Take a Lesson From Lansing on Bipartisan Cooperation

If the Nation is Humpty Dumpty, How Do We Put Him All Together Again?

November 21, 2010
By: Dave Rogers

Fractured Washington is a Humpty Dumpty of disparate political forces at war.

In frequently criticized Lansing, new "Guv" Rick Snyder seems on track to put Michigan back together with a bipartisan coalition.

Hiring Democrat Andy Dillon, former House speaker, as his top money man was a great start and the olive branches Snyder is strewing at the feet of the few remaining Democrats is heartening, and highly commendable.

His other option was to play John Boehner-Mitch McConnell and obstruct the progress of the state's economic recovery as if it was the personal province of the Republicans.

We have only seen the tip of the iceberg of obstructionism, launched in a blatant effort to unseat the President in 2012. Apparently, what happens to the country, the people, their jobs and families is of little concern to the GOP.

At least that's what they are saying now.

If this callousness is real, the Republican Party will do itself immeasurable damage in the coming two years.

You have to wonder: why knock holes in the boat in which we are all riding?

These are desperate times, financially, and without a unified effort the entire national enterprise is at risk.

It seems the Republican leadership misinterpreted the Tea Party led uprising that gave them the majority. Obviously they see it as a license to slash and burn to set Obama's house afire for 2012.

But if the GOP ignores any cooperation on legislation that is vital, such as extension of unemployment benefits for legions of jobless, making the health care plan that has so much promise for reducing debt and is a humanitarian boon for millions, tax cuts for the rich vs. debt reduction, then they will prove their narrow partisanship to the detriment of the broad national interest.

While Mr. Snyder is a business person who knows what it takes to make money, Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell apparently are mainly single-minded political ideologues.

Lots of politicians are fond of saying "what the American people want is . . ." and then inserting their own selfish goals in the conversation. Some of the Republicans will support the attack on Obama without regard to national economic interests. But the voting public, thankfully, is not made up of the "base" of any one party. The independents and those on the fringes of each party always determine the winner.

Fairness is the American creed and always has been. We are confident the swing voters will look at the entire body of political work left by the Republicans and will vote according to which party supported the national interest.

A misreading of the mood of the voters today could prove hurtful to the country for years to come, and may consign the GOP to the same fate as befell the Whigs in the 1840s.

You will remember the Whigs, the party that faded from importance and then disappeared when they could not state a coherent stand on slavery?

The Whigs were replaced by -- guess who? -- the Republicans who took a strong stand in favor of the Declaration of Independence. It's hard to believe today, but their base was the working class.

If the Republicans fail to take a strong stand in favor of the working people of America, like Humpty Dumpty, all the king's horses and all the king's men will have a tough time putting the nation together again.