Like Kyle, I wanted to discuss the budget compromise this week.
A mere week and a half ago, it seemed like there was going to be another government shutdown over the budget. (Now former) Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with Senator Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, decided to take matters into their own hands, but they still couldn't come up with an agreement. That's when President Obama stepped in. According to Senator Reid who, along with his three colleagues, called the President, "He said, 'Fine. You have two choices: The country would be forced to go back on the full faith and credit that we have around the world. Or, if you want, let’s do the budget deal.' That's the deal we made. That's what we did."
What was it that finally forced a compromise? As we recently discussed using Mayhew's Electoral Connection, as well as Fenno, Carson, and Aldrich, compromise in Congress has become increasingly difficult. Primary constituencies (who candidates must appease in order to score a nomination) are becoming increasingly more extremist, causing politicians to follow suit. Increasingly polarized parties, plus Newt Gingrich expanding the role of the Speaker of the House (which made being the majority party in the House a priority, thus making party wins more important than individual ones) has lead to incredibly centralized parties and an increased importance in leadership, making compromise nearly impossible.
But, it seemed that the stars had aligned for a major compromise. In the last quarter of his presidency, Obama has finally put his foot down, and has taken no issue laying blame on the government's inability to pass legislation on Congress and, specifically, the GOP. The perfect example of this was after the shooting in Oregon a few weeks ago. Obama addressed the public, begging and pleading with Congress to do more than just send prayers to the families of the victims, subtly referencing the GOP's aversion to gun control reform.
Add the blame and accusations from the President to all-time low approval ratings and Speaker Boehner's resignation, and Congress, specifically the GOP were put in a tough place. A government shutdown would not bode well for the Republican Party come next year's major elections, and if they intend on keeping a majority in the House and Senate, party leaders knew that they had to step up and give in. With most of the media's attention on the Speakership race, the four legislators and their aides were able to finally compromise and quickly concoct a budget deal, and the the House Rules Committee was quick to pass it, mostly out of desperation.
The budget deal definitely involved some give and take on both sides, just as all good compromises do. The Democrats allowed the GOP to take some entitlement reforms and increase military spending, and the GOP allowed the Democrats to increase spending on Social Security, Medicare, and they even conceded the highly sought-after funding for Planned Parenthood. Neither side was completely satisfied, but thus is the nature of compromise- it is a give and take.
A majority of Republicans in both the Senate and the House have openly opposed and voted against the new bill, but some are relieved that the debt-ceiling debate will potentially be held off until 2017. Meanwhile, the Democrats are reveling in their victories, which they did not anticipate, seeing as they are the minority party.
The budget and debt ceiling debates are certainly long from over, but for now, at least, there is something, and we can celebrate the compromise that has finally occurred.
Could this compromise be the first step towards a more unified Congress? After years of low approval ratings and party polarization, could this deal be the stepping stone towards a brighter future of Congressional action and working together? I don't know that we'll see any massive change immediately, but I would like to think that this is a step towards a brighter future.
Sources:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/budget-congress-secret-deal-215370
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/us/obama-oregon-shooting-umpqua-community-college-gun-control.html?_r=0
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