The political gridlock fallacy
Posted by Moonage on 04 Sep 2004 | Tagged as: Government
I have heard this argument so many times that it just boggles me. “Beltway lockup” sounds catchier, but the phrase “political gridlock” has been around a long time. And that’s what some people are hoping for.
The reality is that having one party controlling one branch, and the other party controlling at least one of the other branches doesn’t really matter. What matters is the plurality one party has over the other. With the situation the way it is now, the Republicans hold the White House, the Republicans hold the Senate, and the Republicans hold the House of Representatives. Sounds powerful huh? In reality, it’s not. The Republicans do not have a margin large enough to force any vote on any issue. Look at all the filibusters the last couple of years. The Republicans have been unable to break any of them. Look at all the judicial nominees Bush can’t get through the Senate or House. You’ve got your “Beltway lockup” already. The ony reason Bush is getting anything done at all is because he is able to get just enough Democrats to vote for some of his issues.
Now think about that for a moment, he is getting Democrats to help him. How does he do that? He makes his proposal “Democratish” enough that it appeals to them. If Bush had his 3/5ths majority in either House he wouldn’t have to do that. If the other party was in control, it would just make it a little more difficult and Bush would have to make his legislation a little more Deomcratish. That’s the only difference.
Now, if Kerry wins and the Republicans hold the margins they have now, Bush and Kerry’s roles would be reversed. Kerry would have to make his proposals “Republicanish” enough to get the hand full of votes he needs to get it passed. In essence, in order to get legislation signed by the President, instead of proposals being “Democratized” as they are now, they will be “Republicanized”.
Is that what the “Beltway Lockup” people truly want? Think about it.
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