Discussion for article #245073
Oh, Bernie knows how to work across the aisle, alright, just like he did with the gun lobby here:
How Bernie Sanders Helped Derail a Promising Legal Fight Against Gun Violence
The most viable effort in decades to stem the flow of guns onto the black market ended with the immunity bill Sanders helped pass.
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Working across the aisle implies that the people on the other side want to work with you, or would even consider working with you. We all know that isnât the case. If he was elected, the GOP on day one would obstruct everything he does. Thatâs in their collective DNA. The GOP considers themselves an opposition party, not a governing party, and it shows.
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They are going to do this regardless of who wins â Hillary or Bernie. I find this situation very sad â but also very maddening. Republicans today are absolutely not about governing, they are absolutists and obstructionists.
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In case you havenât noticed at least one GOPer has already stated that he will immediately initiate impeachment proceedings against Hillary Clinton for the events in Bengazi if she is elected. There will be non stop investigate Hillary committees, guaranteed. Reality: the GOP will not merely oppose any Democrat, they will make it impossible. You kid yourself badly if you believe Republicans will work with anybody.
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Republicans today are no more emotionally mature than most six-year olds. And they wear that badge proudly. Iâm not surprised to hear what you said about their plans from Day One. No matter who wins, Bernie or Hillary, they will do whatever in their power to throw tantrum after tantrum.
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To think Republicans would work with Senator Sanders to pass single payer or to rein in Wall Street is a joke. Thatâs the antithesis of what they stand for.
Bernieâs heart is in the right place, but what he wants just isnât possible in todayâs Washington.
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But not with Planned Parenthood right? Because they are some Establisment political entity.
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Canât work across the aisle, since that means compromising which makes you impure and that isnât allowed according to Sanders supporters.
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I personally am probably closer to Sen. Sanders than to Sec. Clinton. That said, I am a pragmatist at heart. It is the pragmatist who will be pulling the lever for Hillary Clinton. If I thought there was any real chance a Republican House might work with Sanders like I feel they will at least make deals with Clinton, Iâd likely vote Sanders. Also, my top priority is SCOTUS.
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So you think the Republicans will be more inclined to work with Hillary? Have you not heard of Clinton Derangement Syndrome? Republicans in congress at least respect Sanders. They do not Clinton. Sanders has been in Congress since 1990. He has been elected over and over again. He is a hard negotiator and does not start from a place of compromise but will when necessary to get things done. Hillary won two elections to the Senate. She has been in elected office for only 8 years. Sanders knows much more about the Congress and how things actually work than Hillary. He is in politics to change things in service of a progressive agenda, which he has no problem articulating. She has been in politics to become President. Big difference.
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âHe is a hard negotiator and does not start from a place of compromise but will when necessary to get things doneâ
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and yes he has been in congress for a long time, and since he âget things doneâ he must have a long track record of pushing through hard won things right?
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A two term president gets to work with 4 different Congresses, none of which is the one we have right now. If the Democratic contenders were to restrict themselves to only proposing policies that could be passed in the current Republican-dominated CongressâŚtheyâd have nothing to talk about!
Winning the presidency is enough to hold back some of the worst excesses of Congressional Republicans (through the veto pen, bully pulpit, executive order, etc), and perhaps most importantly to prevent the SCOTUS from falling prey to another generation of conservative political fixers like Scalia, Alito, etc. The importance of all of this can scarcely be overstated.
But for either Bernie or Hillary (or Martin OâMalley, if somehow that happened!) to actually move any substantial progressive reforms or programs through Congress â be they Bernieâs more ambitious ones or Hillaryâs more modest ones â first the Democrats would have to win back control of Congress. Itâs just that simple. Anyone with a lick of sense understands this.
Of course, one of the unwritten rules of politics is that when asked about bipartisanship and your willingness and ability to cross the aisle and work with the other side, you ALWAYS say yes, I believe we must always try to find common ground where possible, Iâm proud of my record of bipartisanship, etc. And of course itâs true, it IS important to find common ground, and try to forge bipartisan compromises where possible. That doesnât mean you donât understand the reality that there just isnât much common ground on some of the biggest issues, which means you just have to keep fighting it out. And in the U.S., that means fighting it out for control of Congress, not just the Presidency.
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If he gets the nomination, you will quickly see how much they ârespectâ him. It will simply be the next round of the Red Scare Derangement.
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I agree with you âŚbut they all should stop making promises that have zero chance of becoming law â itâs just lying and insulting too.
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Well, that sure is the starting point, but even if we take back Congress, what follows wouldnât be so simple. See, the current president, whoâs a well-known pragmatist, started with two legislative chambers under the Democratic control, and even that didnât make his job a while lot easier⌠think about it. You gotta work within this side of the aisle as well as across and it sure is easier said than done.
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Well, barely. And only for a very brief period.
But your point is well taken. Nominal control by a party doesnât necessarily equate to support for a bold version of that partyâs policy platform.
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Its not just their collective DNA, though that certainly would be a play. The safest bets in the world are that if Bernie decided to really go after Wall Street, Wall Street is going to pour ENORMOUS amounts of cash and resources into D.C. to ensure it doesnât happen. Likewise if he decides to really push for single payerâŚthe healthcare insurance industry would drown D.C. in money and lobbyists. And in both cases, they have the easier battleâŚthey only have to make sure nothing happens, which is condition normal in Congress.
The answer that Bernie danced around here is that yes, he can work across the aisle when there is common ground. But there wonât be common ground with his policies, and if the country doesnât dramatically change the make up of CongressâŚnot a damn thing he is talking about is going to happen.
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Winning back Congress is highly unlikely without A) a fundamental shift in the national Democratic party strategy and B) even then its going to be very difficult based upon geography made worse by gerrymandering due to republican control of state legislatures and governors. That fundamental shift, btw, is something akin to the Dean 50 state strategyâŚand results in, not more progressives, but rather, more Blue Dogs.
That really doesnât help Sanders get his agenda passed.
And as a side note, I am just going to say I really like OâMalley. The guy has a great record of getting things done. albeit with a Democratic legislature. And he is the only freaking candidate that bothers to talk about climate changeâŚin a way that lends some hope. Both Bernie and Hillary are pretty much just paying lip service to environmental issuesâŚOâMalley gets it, and is laying out an actual plan to do something about it.
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