Gordon L. Weil
Earlier this week, the Senate opened a
session with a foul blast of partisanship.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
discussed the day's schedule and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
responded. Next came a short break when no senator may speak. Sen.
Susan Collins asked for agreement of all senators present, called
“unanimous consent,” so that she could make a speech.
Schumer objected. Collins exclaimed, “This is unbelievable.”
Another GOP senator furiously blurted out that what Schumer did was
“b--- s--t.”
Schumer said he had thought the
arrangement between the leaders was to proceed first with two routine
voice votes, before any speeches. McConnell proceeded, and the votes
were taken. Collins then spoke, blasting the Democratic position on
the coronavirus recovery bill.
The rest of the day, one GOP senator
after another shed sham tears about Schumer's alleged mistreatment of
Collins, proclaimed to be the mild and moderate senator from Maine.
Their comments reflected the extravagant partisanship that continued
for days.
To top it off, one Maine news report
later implied that Collins' statement was a comment on the process
having bogged down in partisan bickering on the Covid-19 rescue bill,
when it was about her having to wait five minutes to speak.
Given the seriousness of the
coronavirus crisis, voters might expect that Republicans and
Democrats would try to work together rapidly on a compromise. This
was the time for expressions of bipartisan resolve.
Instead, senators staged their remarks
for later partisan use. The Senate battles were really skirmishes in
the presidential election. Each side was trying either to get its
policies adopted or to create a platform for themselves and their
presidential candidate to use later this year.
At the same time, senators were fearful
of ignoring the pressing public panic and the need to protect the
incomes of working people and struggling companies. While the White
House, Treasury and Senate Democrats negotiated, others postured.
To end debate on a bill, 60 votes are
required. That super-majority would mean that, on this legislation
at least, bipartisan support would have to be achieved.
But from the outside, the negotiations on the legislation looked
almost purely partisan. Based on a meaningless House bill, with the
House out of session, the Republicans charged Senate Democrats with
seeking wild add-ons in return for their votes. The Democrats
charged the GOP with seeking to give a blank check to big business.
Any weapon to belittle the other side
would do. Hence, the florid GOP defense of Collins over what was
truly a minor matter.
The real reason why the Senate wasted
valuable time in coming up with the needed help for the economy is
that it is broken.
The Republicans hold the White House and are the Senate majority.
The Democrats are the House majority and have enough votes to block
Senate action on major bills. There is no center in national
politics. Moderate politics seems to be dead.
The Covid-19 crisis has huge
implications for public health and the economy. It requires joint
action of the parties and clear, strong national leadership. Only
the scope of the crisis has brought some limited cooperation. Given
the political posturing, it's not likely to last.
Too much power is given to both
parties' Majority Leader. Fortunately excluded from the
negotiations, McConnell stirred panic, trying to get the Democrats to
drop their demands for spending safeguards. An urgent response was
more important to him than good public policy, even when spending $2
trillion was at stake.
The dictatorship of the Majority Leader
could end any time a majority of senators decided they should share
in control. Maine's bipartisan Legislative Council, which controls
the state's House business, is a good alternative model.
Senators need to see themselves as
equal members of a deliberative body and not simply as partisan
soldiers whose main goal is re-election. Any 51 senators could seize
power and set the Senate rules. Right now, it is erroneously
believed that this option is available only to the Majority Leader.
The CARES Act on Covid-19 is not the
last word. Congress must accommodate and manage basic changes to
health care and the economy caused by the pandemic.
Despite the forced Covid-19
bipartisanship, divided government is proving to be unworkable. If
the senators cannot play their role as the wiser heads in government,
the solution may be left to the voters.
If the federal government continues to
falter, the elections would need to provide a clear result. That's
what happened in the most recent British elections when the
Conservatives won a stunning victory, enabling them to act
decisively.
With compromise almost impossible,
whichever party wins in November needs to win big.
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