Bipartisanship is tough in an election year.  Each candidate up for election is seeking ways to differentiate him/herself from the opposition.  Particularly in primary battles, compromise is often punished.  A few examples come to mind recently of election years politics getting in the way of bipartisan compromises.  Candidates from both parties have let the politics of the moment derail sensible policy.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is one Democrat who comes to mind.  After financial regulatory reform, there are two important major legislative priorities that have a chance to getting bipartisan support in this Congress – immigration reform and climate change/energy security.  The one Republican who has been willing to stick his neck out on both of these initiatives is Lindsey Graham (R-SC).  Graham has worked with Senator Schumer (D-NY) on immigration reform and Senator Kerry (D-MA) on climate change.  They had both come up with sensible compromises that had a chance of getting bipartisan support.  It wasn’t going to be easy in an election year on either of these issues, but it was a start.  The challenge for the Democrats was to maintain Graham’s support on both issues and hope to pick up some more Republicans who were willing to put aside partisan differences.  Then came Harry Reid.

Graham had made it clear that he wanted to first prioritize climate change/energy security legislation this year.  He had been working on it for some time with Senator Kerry and legislation had been drafted.  Senator Reid, however, facing a tough election-year battle in his home state of Nevada realized that one way to energize the Latino vote that might help push him over the finish line was to come out strong on immigration reform, even if it meant alienating the one Republican ally needed for both initiatives, Lindsey Graham.  I believe that it could have been possible to move forward on both initiatives.  But it was going to take some sensitivity on the timing by Reid.  It seems that he put his own electoral survival ahead of bipartisan compromise.  Some Democrats have argued that politically speaking, it’s better to energize the base in this election year, even if the end result is that no legislation gets passed.  That sort of political maneuvering is exactly what makes the American people fed up with Washington politics.

After Reid publicly said that he would put immigration ahead of climate change/energy reform in the legislative queue, Lindsey Graham pulled out of the climate change/energy reform legislation that was set to be released on April 26th.  Rather than working quietly behind the scenes to ensure Senator Graham’s continued support, Reid decided to put election-year politics first.  On one hand, I can’t say I blame him.  You have to be in office to move legislation forward.  However, the way this was handled did great damage to a fragile compromise that has the potential to make important progress on climate change and energy security.

Senator McCain (R-AZ) also put election year politics ahead of sensible policy.  In 2005, Senator McCain teamed up with the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) to introduce legislation that would push forward comprehensive immigration reform.  Both Senators took bold stands and made compromises that alienated key segments of their respective parties.  It identified the compromises that will be necessary for a true bipartisan bill – increased border enforcement, a temporary worker program that facilitates more legal immigration, and a path to citizenship for those illegal immigrants already in the country, provided they pay the necessary fines, back taxes, and go to the back of the line.  Unfortunately, there weren’t sufficient votes to pass it.  Now, facing a primary challenge from the right, John McCain has referred to the recently enacted state law in Arizona that promotes racial profiling as a “good tool”.  This is the same law that law enforcement authorities in Arizona are criticizing because it turns them into immigration officers and usurps time that would otherwise be spent combating crime.  Talk about a 180 degree turn around from McCain.

Yes, both parties are guilty of putting politics ahead of sensible compromise.  But, even in an election year, it can be done.  Doris Meissner writes here that actually all previous significant immigration bills of the past few decades have occurred in election years, sometimes after fractious debates.  On immigration, we know the outlines of what the solution will be.  Climate change/energy security is even further ahead with a bill ready to be released.  Now we just need a few leaders from both sides of the aisle to move the ball forward in a sensible way that doesn’t alienate those on the other side.

No related posts.