Bipartisanship is No Way to Win Re-Election By: Danielle M. Restaino dmr39@buffalo.

edu President Obamas economic recovery package has sparked much debate over the last month. It has caused concern on both sides of the political aisle resulting in arguments over the details of the plan and how in fact this very large piece of legislation will actually stimulate the economy and create jobs. On the right there are those who argue this is nothing more than a huge spending bill that will only increase the national debt and create only those jobs that will end once these enormous spending projects are completed. On the left there are those that argue these spending projects are whats needed to energize the economy and get people working again, something a bill full of tax cuts cannot accomplish. Its fair to say that this debate is substantive appropriate, after all thats the point of a two party system. The views of both sides are to be taken into account in the debate over matters which affect the citizens of this country. In the midst of such a debate though, it would seem to be the hope that some kind of compromise would emerge, that the argument and conversation would lead to something much more substantive than empty political bickering and partisan posturing. Unfortunately that has not been the case for the Obama administration as it has tried to generate support for this recovery bill. This begs the question: has President Obama done enough to reach across the aisle and listen what Republicans in Congress are advocating as ways to stimulate the economy? I think one would have to answer yes. The President was elected with a plan in mind as to how he would fix the state of the economy. Going into the first hundred days of his administration Republicans had to be aware that his plan to inject money into the economy through infrastructure spending projects and so forth was going to be what this recovery package was based on, and ideas that had been suggested in the previous administration would be rejected. To that end the President has made efforts to engage with Republicans in formal and informal ways to listen to what they had to say. It is not the Presidents fault that the only alternative ideas presented to him for consideration were those that had been tried and failed. The goal of Republicans should have been to engage in a meaningful dialogue, not try and achieve their agenda at whatever cost it takes. In the end the President should not be expected to concede his position, one that the American people voted for, to make the passage of a bill appear bipartisan. That is not bipartisanship, thats giving a five year old an extra scoop of ice cream so hell stop holding his breath. As weve heard from countless elected officials, even the President himself, and maybe weve even felt it personally, this is indeed a national crisis. People need this recovery package to succeed. The American people want the government to do something; they want the government to help them. It seems logical that both parties in Congress would want to help this process along rather than dig their heels into the ground. This then begs another question: what do the opponents of this bill stand to gain from being obstinate in their opposition?

The 2010 midterm elections, thats what. If the Presidents recovery package does not show any marked improvement by the time those campaigns are in full swing congressional Republicans can go back to their states and districts and point to what a failure and waste of money this bill has been. They dont want to be on record supporting it or even considering supporting it in anticipation of the public anxiety that can be expected in the next year if no relief is felt by the voters. The truly sad part is that elected representatives of the people would be thinking about such typical partisan tactics at a time like this rather than constructive ways to communicate what they believed to be alternative means to stimulate the economy. Thats not to say the Democrats are not acting with midterms in mind. They have an interest in delivering on the promises they made in 2006 and 2008, so that when they go home to their states and districts they can tell constituents they kept their word. The difference between the two parties though is the voters chose those promises made by the Democrats in the passed two election cycles. They chose this course of action by giving Democrats a majority in Congress and the White House. The Republicans on the other hand, did not even try to find middle ground with the other side; they labeled provisions in the bill pork rather than asking why they were included. They went directly to opposition bordering on obstructionism. The post-partisan Washington that President Obama spoke of in the campaign is nowhere to be found. Perhaps its too soon to judge, but the traditional bickering that goes on between both parties helps no one in this economic climate. The American people need their leaders to transcend the pettiness of politics for at least the time being. They need to find a way to work together to restore Americas self confidence and recover from this catastrophe.