Driving out moderates in Congress: Is this what voters want? Apparently, yes.
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[QUOTE]Washington (CNN) -- Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner drew a hard line in the sand this week, renewing a battle over the debt ceiling unless President Barack Obama agreed to significant budget cuts during what may be a lame-duck session after the November elections.
This could set the stage for a dire scenario that threatens to bring the government to a crawl by Christmas.
But brinksmanship tactics from both sides are not new -- in fact, they are all too commonplace on both sides in this Congress as the value of the compromise among moderate voices has all but disappeared. And it appears many voters want it that way.
What may be different today is that, as the country looks around for reasonable, moderate statesmen and women on both sides to go behind closed the doors and broker a deal, their choices are becoming more limited.
Congressional moderates, it seems, are a dying breed.
Where once such names as Bob Packwood and Ted Kennedy in the Senate symbolized bipartisan compromise in Congress, today the slow end of the compromiser has been hastened in part by frustrated voters who in polls say they are tired of political infighting and legislative gridlock. But these are often the same voters have recently shoved aside longtime moderates in favor of more extreme candidates.
Just ask U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana, the centrist Republican who after 35 years in office was defeated by tea party favorite Richard Mourdock last week in the GOP primary. Or discouraged Maine moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe, who is retiring this year after being frustrated with the lack of compromise in the Senate. Or any of the Blue Dog Democrats who were voted out in 2010.
"The electorate is frustrated. They are clearly unhappy. The response is to vote for those who stand up and say 'I'm not like the rest of these guys,' " said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the book "It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism."
Senate's all-day budget debate dominated by politics
Congress has a 78% disapproval rating, according to an analysis by Real Clear Politics. The distaste for Beltway politics has been demonstrated in recent elections across the country where moderates were ousted in favor of candidates who vowed to take a tougher line on upholding party values.
Mourdock's Facebook page boasts a string of congratulatory nods from conservatives and an ominous warning from those who voted for him.
"Remember to represent the State of Indiana not forgetting us, and what we Hoosiers stand for," voter Roger Smith wrote. "Dick Lugar forgot we are the Bible-belt Hoosier Christian values, and that we believe in our Constitution which he took an oath to uphold and defend but instead did his best to destroy."
Snowe grew so fed up with the current climate in Washington that she decided not to run for a fourth term. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska; Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut; Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota; and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, are centrist-leaning lawmakers who are also retiring.
"People are just stunned by the debilitating partisanship, polarization and the overall dysfunction of the institution and political paralysis as we come, you know, to the point of extreme when it comes to resolving the problems facing our country," a frustrated Snowe told CNN in February. "It's become an all or nothing proposition and that failure has eroded the public's confidence about the direction of this country and about governing institutions to be at the front lines of solving these problems."
In states and districts that slightly favor one party and have been traditionally represented by moderates from the opposite party, the very lawmakers viewed as "problem solvers" are tossed out in favor of those who promise change, Ornstein said. During the 2010 midterm elections, for instance, roughly half of the 50 Blue Dogs, a group of moderate Democrats who largely hail from conservative leaning Southern and Midwestern districts, were voted out of office.
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Georgia, knows the perils of such trends all too well. Despite his reputation as one of the most fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats -- he voted against and promised to help reform the health care reform law -- Marshall was unable to fend off a 2010 challenge in his Republican-leaning district by Austin Scott, who was backed by the tea party.
"It's difficult for Congress to draft legislation that makes sense for America because we are ideologically driven on both sides," Marshall said. "It's really difficult for these folks to come together for a compromise. You'll hear members say, 'I have to watch my base.' "
The current era of partisanship was ushered in by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Ornstein said. Although the former Republican presidential candidate would say he and former President Bill Clinton cut deals that led to a record budget surplus and the biggest economic boom in modern American history, many say the Georgia Republican's ideologically unyielding, take-no-prisoners brand of leadership ushered in an era of heel-digging politics that persists to this day.
But ideological stubbornness may be just one ingredient in the recipe for congressional paralysis. Throw in congressional redistricting, which has made it more difficult for moderates to run and win. Judicial nominations are stalled. Legislation that sails through the House is often dead on arrival in the Senate. Even issues that appear to have bipartisan support -- such as capping student loan interest rates -- get stuck in the goo of Congress.
Next, add primary rule changes that only allow registered party members to vote and a polarized electorate whose grassroots efforts have put tremendous pressure on lawmakers to stay true to a more narrow interpretation of party values. Then sweeten it with the rise of more partisan-leaning media that allows voters to only consume news skewed to their own political views.
The result: danger for moderates on both sides of the aisle.
"You put all of that together, and you have a toxic stew," Ornstein said. "It's deeply rooted. It metastasizes into states where the extreme elements are getting stronger."[/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/politics/moderates-congress/index.html?hpt=hp_c2[/url]
Remember kids, it's not important if your country progresses, only if your party has power.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36009917]Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/politics/moderates-congress/index.html?hpt=hp_c2[/url]
Remember kids, it's not important if your country progresses, only if your party has power.[/QUOTE]
Politics has become a team sport. You can call it what you want, but that's really what it's become. Instead of actually thinking through issues, the average voter now finds it easier to root and cheer for their "team" and boo the enemy "team". This shit has to stop soon or we'll never get anything done.
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;36010005]Politics has become a team sport. You can call it what you want, but that's really what it's become. Instead of actually thinking through issues, the average voter now finds it easier to root and cheer for their "team" and boo the enemy "team". This shit has to stop soon or we'll never get anything done.[/QUOTE]
Implying that we are getting stuff done now :v:
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;36010005]Politics has become a team sport. You can call it what you want, but that's really what it's become. Instead of actually thinking through issues, the average voter now finds it easier to root and cheer for their "team" and boo the enemy "team". This shit has to stop soon or we'll never get anything done.[/QUOTE]
This is how politics has [I]always[/I] been.
Since Roman times and almost certainly earlier.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;36010121]This is how politics has [I]always[/I] been.
Since Roman times and almost certainly earlier.[/QUOTE]
If you read the article, it does point out that there have been many, many compromising moderates in Congress over the years.
Compromise is the heart of getting things done.
[editline]18th May 2012[/editline]
Conciliatory Politicians always do better than Angry Politicians.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36010179]If you read the article, it does point out that there have been many, many compromising moderates in Congress over the years.[/QUOTE]
True, I was speaking more of the general psychological phenomenon.
I should rephrase that it's been present in varying degrees since forever; whether it's flaring up now is up for debate.
I guess this means more brinksmanship, can't wait until they talk themselves into inaction on an important issue
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;36010121]This is how politics has [I]always[/I] been.
Since Roman times and almost certainly earlier.[/QUOTE]
Which means it has to continue that way.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;36010121]This is how politics has [I]always[/I] been.
Since Roman times and almost certainly earlier.[/QUOTE]
I hope the senate doesn't decide to stab obama en masse
"compromise? what the fuck is that?"
seriously, this partisanship war needs to fucking stop. back in the day, republicans and democrats could play golf with each other after debates or sessions of congress, but now they just scream at each other. how the fuck does anyone expect to get anything done in the country if we don't work together?
As far as I can tell the whole problem started around the red scare, just seemed to instill in Americans a whole "you're either with us or against us" mentality that just refuses to die out.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;36012411]I hope the senate doesn't decide to stab obama en masse[/QUOTE]
Et tu Pelosi?
So with no moderates, all that will be left if the left and right extremists?
By the way, fuck the party system. It causes too much pointless division. Why don't people just summarize their views on key issues and vote for the politician that aligns with their views the most? It makes more sense than just voting for the party that's wrong half of the time.
Is it just me or do the politics in the U.S. become more insane by the day?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36010179]If you read the article, it does point out that there have been many, many compromising moderates in Congress over the years.[/QUOTE]
Of the people mentioned in the article:
-Ted Kennedy was a scumbag on a criminal level,
-Bob Packwood was an ancient scumbag on a criminal level,
-Richard Lugar is a moron who opposes some very basic shit both the left and the right want in an attempt to play both ways,
-Olympia Snowe I'll give you,
-The "Blue Dogs" are most notable for being democrats with clumsy and broken economic and social stances everybody knew wouldn't work in the long term,
-Ben Nelson is corrupt and essentially a republican,
-Joe Lieberman... it's citing Joe Fucking Lieberman? Really?
-Jim Webb I'll give you,
-Kent Conrad is corrupt and actually stopped running because of the economically conservative work he wants to do instead,
-Jesse Bingaman I'll give you.
This is why I hate modern CNN. They retained the old liberal bias on social issues, except now they complement it with a fiscally conservative one at the same time, with all the nutjobbery that comes from ownership via media conglomerate. What is "moderate" to CNN is not necessarily a [I]good[/I] moderate nor even technically [I]moderate whatsoever.[/I] Time Warner's pissy that times are still hard for them, and if only we had more "compromise" on fiscally pseudo-conservative lunacy and support for shit like SOPA their bottom line would be better. I don't really give a fuck. "Compromise" in the form they want is dangerous. It's not compromise to sell off your stance on homosexuals or women's rights for campaign funds. It's not compromise to support gaming of the system so long as you get a kickback afterwards.
Being a "moderate" where it means taking it in the ass from whoever pays the bills and making sure not to upset anybody too much is being a political whore. That people have reacted by looking for honest (albeit insane) politicians is no surprise. That doesn't mean radical politicians are preferable, but the enemy of the enemy is not an ally here. We have [I]never[/I] been truly moderate, and what passes for it in this country is in no way desirable to either party or actual moderates.
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