Compromising positions

Compromising positions

by digby

Steve Benen discusses the political establishment op-eds admonishing the President to be more bipartisan, by which it means that he must give in to Republican demands, and giving him advice on which positions he must compromise. Benen notes:
This isn't to pick on Mankiw, but I can't help but notice there seems to be practically no related suggestions for the other side of the aisle. I can't think of any recent op-eds from anyone, for example, letting congressional Republicans know that if economic policy is to make any progress over the next two years, the GOP really will have to be bipartisan. There's no related talk about where Republicans should expect to compromise, or what promises they should expect to break as part of the give-and-take world of Washington policymaking in a time of divided government.

The reason for this, I suspect, has something to do with the fact that Republican leaders have already foresworn making concessions with anyone on anything, and everyone seems well aware of this. You'll recall, for example, that the incoming House Speaker proclaimed on "60 Minutes" last month that he "rejects the word" compromise.

But this is a flaw in the conventional wisdom that needs to be corrected. In a few days, we'll have a Democratic White House, a Democratic Senate, and a sizable House Republican majority. If the only question is "What can Democrats do to make those Republicans happy?" the conversation will need a dramatic overhaul.


One would think so, but I see no reason to believe that it will. And that's less because the Republicans are intransigent than because this calculation reinforces the bedrock belief in the beltway that this is a "center-right" country. The fact the Republicans now control one House of congress with a 25 vote majority means that the nation has validated their belief. (That's all ittakes.)

But not to worry. The Republicans are already setting up what they are willing to "compromise." They will agree not to shut down the government. Or demand that the nation return to its debt levels of 1889. Or perhaps even agree not to blow up Capitol Hill or eat children for lunch. There's no reason a deal can't be made. The GOP have no end to absurd positions they are willing to give up in exchange for something they really want.


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