But I do I think the tea party experience can be a cautionary tale for Bernie’s supporters.
2010 and, specially 2014, were wave elections for Republicans. After 2014, they got their biggest majorities in Congress in generations.
They got there by promising their voters, not governing, but revolution. They were going to, not only repeal every word of Obamacare, but basically destroy what’s left of the new deal.
No negotiations with dems or Obama. Compromise is treason. Boehner and McConnell, both truly conservative, but not fanatics, were deemed Obama’s enablers. Eric Cantor was thrown out because he was not sufficiently hostile to Immigration Reform.
These republicans were sent to Washington to radically change it.
Their motto was “Revolution or Nothing”. And that’s exactly what they got: Nothing.
Their voters are understandably furious. They gave the Republicans full control of Congress, and they haven’t got anything in return.
Why? Because in Washington DC, compromise is the only way to get things done.
And that drives both the right and the left completely nuts. The farther from the center, the nuttier.
Washington is not, and never will be, a one party town. Meaning, even if you are in the majority, you still need the other party to get things done.
And that is by design. The Senate was created with the purpose of slow things down. The server as “a cooling plate” for the hotter House of Representatives. To deliberate and reach consensus.
We can argue about the wisdom of that, but that’s how things are.
All president’s want their heads in Mt. Rushmore. The way to get there is to have a transformative presidency. They all go to Washington to change it.
And then, reality bites them in the ass.
Now, Bill Clinton is reviled by many for signing DOMA into law. It seems that they have forgotten that one of the first things Clinton tried to do, was to lift the ban on gays in the military. There was no law keeping gays from serving, it was an official policy of the military, so the Commander in Chief had the power to lift it with the stroke of a pen.
He promised it during the campaign, and he thought it would be easy to do. It blew up in his face. He got crucified in the press and in the polls.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress made it clear, that if he lifted the ban, they would pass a law banning gays from serving. They had enough votes to override Clinton’s veto.
The result was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A law that no one liked, but at least offered some protection to gays in the Military.
By the time DADT was repealed, the country was ready for it. You know, incremental steps.
Obama promised to close Guantanamo. He really did intend to do it. We know how that went.
On purpose, the office of the President was created to be the weakest of the three branches of government. No kings for America and such. So no president can make Congress do a thing it doesn’t want to do.
Obamacare passed because the democrats in Congress were behind it. In order the get their support, Obama sacrificed the public option. If he had insisted on it, Obamacare would not exist today.
A president not only needs to negotiate with the opposition, he needs to negotiate with his own party.
A president Sanders would have two opposing parties in Congress. He is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. No one in either party would owe him anything. What do you think not one Democratic senator is behind him. He is not one of them.
One of the reasons Sanders is so appealing to many liberals, is his apparent unwillingness to compromise. His steadfast belief he is right. Admirable qualities in a person, not so much in a President.
Of course, Hillary is not going to fare any better with the Republicans. But I do believe she will have an easier time rallying the Democratic party than Sanders ever will.
And she is not promising revolution. Just good governing.
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