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Obama Must Play Ball with GOP
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
November 6, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Stung by a
stunning defeat Nov. 4, President Barack Obama hasn’t caught up to the reality
that he must play ball with Congressional Republicans. With sizable majorities in the House
and Senate, Obama’s reluctance to work with Congressional Republicans must end.
Gone are the days of blaming his lack of deal making on Republican
obstructionism, whether it’s true or not.
Voters spoke Nov. 4 telling Obama to work with the GOP on Capitol Hill to
do the people’s business, without imposing his agenda by executive privilege. Newly minted Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned Obama not
to “poison the well” by acting unilaterally on immigration. Barack no longer has the political
capital to act independently on any issue without damaging Democrats chances in
2016 where they hope to retain the presidency.
Speaking at a post-Midterm Election new conference yesterday, Obama threw
out the olive branch while, at the same time, hinting he still wielded the veto. Democratic losses Nov. 4 gave
Congressional Republicans the mandate to pursue their agenda within reason. “When you play with matches, you run
the risk of burning yourself, and he’s going to burn himself if he continues to
go down this path,” said Boehner, referring to Obama’s implied threat to act
unilaterally on immigration.
Without political capital, Obama can only do harm to the Democratic Party—and
his legacy—by acting without Congressional consent. When Barack asked for Congressional consent to intervene against Bashar al-Assad in Syria
Aug. 31, 2013, he did so for the wrong reasons:
He didn’t want to intervene.
Now Obama has one last shot to show he can work with the GOP on Capitol Hill.
When Obama meets with Congressional leaders Friday at the White House, he
should listen attentively to McConnell and Boehner to find common ground. Most folks think he can find
bipartisan support for the Keystone XL Pipeline, bringing Canadian tar-sands
crude oil to the Gulf of Mexico.
While he vetoed the idea in 2012, it’s time to rethink the plan that would
create thousands of jobs and add to U.S. energy security. “What I’m not going to do is just
wait,” said Obama, referring to pressing issues like immigration. Obama’s in no position to dictate
legislation on Capitol Hill.
Listening to McConnell and Boehner, Obama will get a clear sense of where the
two sides can find common ground.
Unlike early in his term where he forced Obamacare on the GOP, Obama must
demonstrate he can find common ground with the GOP. Moving ahead with the Keystone XL
Pipeline could open the door for eventual bipartisan immigration reform
legislation.
Once Obama signed Obamacare into law March 23, 2010, he lost any
cooperation for the GOP on Capitol Hill.
Now that he lost the Senate Nov. 4, it’s now up to Obama to deliver on
his 2008 promise to govern as a post-partisan president. Working with McConnell and Boehner
to fashion bipartisan legislation should pay rich dividends for any 2016
Democratic candidates. Republicans
will no doubt make the argument in 2016 that if the country wants to end
Washington gridlock, they need to elect a Republican president. Working with the GOP today on
bipartisan legislation would show that it’s possible for Democrats to get
something done. Obama signaled in
yesterday’s news conference he would veto legislation aimed at ending the
Affordable Care Act. Republicans
and Democrats alike need to show voters before 2016 that they can get something
done in Washington.
If the White House can’t or won’t play ball with Republicans, it’s not
going to be a tough sell for Democrats in 2016.
Calling Republicans obstructionists has lost its novelty, no longer a
viable excuse for getting nothing done.
If McConnell and Boehner offer to work with Obama on the Keystone XL
Pipeline, Democrats should jump at the opportunity over the objections from the
Party’s environmentalists. “As the
president said before the election, this election was a referendum on his
policies. He’s the one that said
it. He was right. His policies have been resoundingly
rejected,” said Barack’s 2008 nemesis, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). McCain knows that the economy had
crashed in 2008. He reads the same
economic data showing that Obama’s policies rescued the economy, leading to the
biggest bull market in U.S. history, adding 9 million jobs since March 2010.
Before the GOP’s Election
euphoria gets out of hand, McConnell and Boehner walk a tightrope ripping Obama
for a failed economy. Wall Street’s
unprecedented bull market, four percent GDP growth, 9 million private sector
jobs, 5.9% unemployment, under $500 billion federal deficits, lower pump prices
and improved consumer confidence don’t show economic failure. If the trend continues, no Republican can
run on Obama’s failed economy. Voters
Nov. 4 rejected Obama’s failure to work cooperatively with Capitol Hill
Republicans. All but the most partisan voters know that the country’s better off today, to paraphrase
former President Ronald Reagan, than it was nearly six year ago when Obama took
office. Partisan hacks can interpret
Nov. 4 any way they wish. Voters looking
at the next two years want both parties to work together for the good of the
country
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