According to Ramesh Ponnuru, a writer for National Review, President Obama is kidding himself if he thinks that after winning re-election, the Republican Party is likely to become more cooperative than they have acted during his first term.
"If Obama wins re-election, the Republican Party will react by moving right, not left. It will become less likely to compromise with Obama, not more.
Ponnuru reaches this conclusion based on the likely results of this election, that President Obama will win by a smaller margin than in 2008, unusual for an incumbent, and that the Republican Party will strengthen its control over Congress. In that situation, the Republican Party is likely to feel even more emboldened to push its conservative agenda than previously.
There is a thinly-veiled threat in this analysis, to consider voting for Romney instead of Obama, in the hope that renewed Republican control over the government will allow the government to function more effectively than under the existing stalemate. If voters are sick of partisan gridlock, they should not support Obama, goes this argument, because in President Obama's second term, the Republicans would act even more obstreperously than they have so far. Whereas, even if voters have some doubts about the Republican agenda, at least the Republicans will get stuff done in the next four years.
TPM had a story earlier today discussing the Ponnuru article, but they failed to explain why Ponnuru is completely wrong in his analysis. Never fear, I will leap into the breach. The fact is, that Republicans can threaten all they want to become even more doctrinaire and right wing and uncompromising, but after the election, they are going to have to start acting a lot differently, regardless of who wins the presidential race (though both Ponnuru and I am assuming Obama will win). Republicans are going to start behaving differently for several reasons.
First, the upcoming budget negotiations, which all parties have agreed to put off until the lame duck session after the election, have been designed to force the Republicans in Congress to compromise regardless of who wins the election. Recall that the budget negotiations of 2010 and 2011 were resolved by agreement to extend all of the Bush tax cuts to December 2012, but not beyond; and to mandate automatic spending cuts, largely to the defense budget, in the event Congress is unable to resolve the continuing budget deadlock. That means that if the Republicans refuse to deal after the election, they get the worst of all possible worlds for them: all the Bush tax cuts will automatically expire in December, and massive cuts in defense spending will kick in automatically. All the Democrats have to do to achieve that result is . . . nothing. The results of a failure to agree have effectively been rigged to favor the Democrats' position. That means the Republicans in Congress must compromise on allowing revenue increases to be part of the equation if they want to allow even some of the Bush tax cuts to continue, and if they want to avoid draconian cuts to the defense budget. But if Romney wins, Republicans in Congress will probably be less likely to recognize the necessity of compromise.
Second, the outcome that conservatives are advancing, that they will take an even harder line after the election, is not what most people, particularly moderate and independent voters, want. When asked, people respond positively to the suggestion that the parties work together to find common solutions. They respond negatively to obstructionism and delay. Again, this seems true regardless of which candidate wins the presidential election. People are disgusted with Congress because its members seem unable to work with people of the opposite party to solve common problems. And while people also generally think the government should do more to cut spending, and are also not keen on tax increases, the majority of the electorate also clearly does not buy into the entire Republican program. People want to preserve Medicare and Social Security pretty much in their current form, and they think that if anybody ought to pay more taxes, it should be the wealthiest among us. So while Romney supporters are probably right that people want the government to function more smoothly, that doesn't necessarily show support for smoothly passing the whole Republican agenda.
Finally, let's not forget the crucial role of the United States Senate, the bane of practically every president's existence. Unless one party has a super-majority, which neither party is likely to get after this election, the Senate has considerable power to put a monkey wrench into any president's plans. If President Obama is re-elected, there is going to be some pressure for Republicans in the Senate to compromise on budget and tax issues, for the reasons above. But if Romney is elected, again, Republicans will be less likely to understand the need to compromise, and will claim a mandate to pass Romney's program. Romney is not talking about bi-partisanship. He is not out advocating that Democrats and Republicans work together. You never hear him extol the virtues of compromise. Not only will his party respond in kind, Democrats also are not likely to be responsive to calls for compromise if they find themselves in the minority. And in the Senate, a minority of Democrats would still have the power to derail much of the Republican program. Even more tax cuts for the wealthy? Turning Medicare into a voucher program? As we say in New Jersey, fuggedaboutit.
Those seem strong reasons to support President Obama's hope that after the election, we may move a few baby steps closer to the dream of seeing the two parties learn to work together in a constructive way. And that is far more likely to happen with a President Obama, who actually supports that goal, than with a President Romney, who might expect to govern like a CEO but is likely to face a rude awakening if he cannot control Congress.
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