The Utter Futility of Seeking Republican Budget Votes

[babylonsister]

http://www.anonymousliberal.com/2009/04/utter-futility-of-seeking-republican.html

The Utter Futility of Seeking Republican Budget Votes
The Anonymous Liberal


Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, in a smarmy and statistically misleading column yesterday, criticized President Obama for not being sufficiently bipartisan in his efforts to get a budget through Congress:

Obama was supposed to be the antidote to the poison of partisanship. During the presidential campaign, chief strategist David Axelrod told Brownstein, "If there's an enhanced Democratic majority, I think that he's going ... to urge a special sense of responsibility to try and forge coalitions around these answers, not because we won't be able to force our will in many cases, but because, ultimately, effective governance requires it in the long term."

That makes last week's votes on the budget resolutions a landmark of ineffective governance. Not a single Republican in the House or Senate supported the bill, largely because the Democratic majority forced its will. Republicans were flattened, not consulted. Democratic leaders talk of enacting controversial elements of the budget through the reconciliation process -- which would require 51 Senate votes, not the normal 60, for passage. Only in Washington would the word "reconciliation" refer to a form of partisan warfare.

First, the idea that requiring 60 votes is "normal," especially with respect to budget resolutions is ridiculous. As is the claim that Republicans were not consulted about anything. Obama bent over backwards to seek their input and listen to any legitimate proposals they might have.

But the fundamental reality here--and Obama surely realized this--is that seeking Republican support for a budget proposal is the very definition of a futile endeavor. And that's for one simple reason: There is not a single Republican at the national level who will even consider voting for a tax increase, no matter how small, no matter how necessary. The vast majority of Republicans have taken oaths never to vote for a tax increase. And the others are well aware that any vote in favor of a tax increase would instantly and irrevocably result in them becoming a persona non grata in GOP circles. They would be viciously attacked by virtually every Republican activist group and scorn would be heaped upon them by virtually every conservative columnist, blogger, and talking head. They might as well switch parties because they would have no future as a Republican. Which goes a long way toward explaining why no Republican in Congress has voted for a tax increase in the last 20 years.

snip//

The reality is that Obama never had any chance of getting any Republican to vote for his budget proposal. Seeking bipartisan support is great, but Obama would have a better chance of walking on water than getting a Republican to vote for a budget with his name on it.

[bemildred]

1. Republicans have no real political incentive to help Obama succeed.

And they have not shown any marked tendency to altruism or concern for the public interest that I can remember. So while I would not reject any help I could get, I would not plan or do business that way.