Socialism in action. And the GOP now wants in.
House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor:
Cantor stressed, "We've got to focus on areas of commonality, try and transcend differences here. I think we need to build consensus and that's going to require us all not to impugn motives or to question patriotism."
Three areas in which Cantor indicated the GOP may be able to find some common ground include some infrastructure spending, assistance for jobless Americans and trade.
House Republican Conference head Jeb Hensarling:
Primarily, [Republicans] will be opposing more stimulus spending, more regulations and a payroll tax extension. But the House Republican Conference, led by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), notes there may be room for cooperation on permitting for construction projects, infrastructure spending, free trade agreements and a jobs program for the unemployed being eyed by the White House.
Hmmm.... much depends, of course, on what Republicans demand in exchange for extending unemployment benefits or spending money on infrastructure improvements. They are desperate to negate their boneheaded effort to kill Medicare, so they may try and get Democrats to agree to such cuts. That way, a potent 2012 issue would be off the table.
But this does suggest that Republicans no longer feel comfortable in sticking with their policy of "NO!" As people demand jobs, being seen as an obstructionist isn't necessarily a winning position. Then again, being obstructionists was a winning position in 2010. So why the change now?
Well, it's easy to scream "NO!" at everything when in the minority. They now run the House. Now add this to the mix, and you have the makings of brewing GOP panic:
Only 41 percent of people questioned say the lawmaker in their district in the U.S. House of Representatives deserves to be re-elected - the first time ever in CNN polling that that figure has dropped below 50 percent. Forty-nine percent say their representative doesn't deserve to be re-elected in 2012. And with ten percent unsure, it's the first time that a majority has indicated that they would boot their representative out of office if they had the chance today.
"That 41 percent, in the polling world, is an amazing figure. Throughout the past two decades, in good times and bad, Americans have always liked their own member of Congress despite abysmal ratings for Congress in general," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Now anti-incumbent sentiment is so strong that most Americans are no longer willing to give their own representative the benefit of the doubt. If that holds up, it could be an early warning of an electorate that is angrier than any time in living memory."
And this:
About one in five U.S. registered voters (21%) say most members of Congress deserve re-election, the lowest percentage Gallup has found in the 20-year history of asking this question.
At this rate, Democrats will take the House in yet another landslide election.
But Republicans won't surrender their majorities without a fight. And what do congresscritters need to justify reelection? Pork. They need those big-ass fake scissors for ground-breaking photo ops, or those big-ass cardboard checks for even more photo opportunities. They need to convince their constituents that electing them brings tangible benefits. Their lack of results certainly gave them headaches this summer:
Cantor said discussions with voters over the summer recess made it clear they are anxious about the economy, and he added Americans "have lost a lot of confidence in Washington and while they are going through such tough times they're frankly sick of the rancor in this town."
So the crowd that has screamed "no new government spending!" for three years is realizing their own reelection and majorities are in peril. They are realizing that being jackasses was fine while in the minority, but is less helpful when voters expect them to deliver.
Hence, a newfound and magnanimous openness to new infrastructure and construction spending. It's self preservation. And I bet they ultimately agree to it without significant concessions.
