Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Biden Must Avoid Trap of Bipartisanship
One of the more ridiculous ideas in American democracy is the concept of bipartisanship. Elections put representatives in office based on partisan divisions, and then, those legislators are expected to find common ground with the other side. This is a hold-over from another time when American political parties were less ideological. The idea that the majority should make concessions to the minority for their cooperation is nonsense. The minority lost the election. President Joe Biden has made a big deal out of his ability to work across the aisle, but it is already obvious that the Republicans are not interested in cooperation.
The appeal of bipartisanship is heady. If there is bipartisan support for an idea, it suggested a unified nation dedicated to a goal. When something big like World War II comes along, that is the case, but the unity precedes the bipartisanship. It flows from the people up. What is suggested in Washington now is that goals get set based on whether the Republican minority can be brought along.
The confirmation of Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence demonstrates this. She is an old hand in intelligence, and the only thing that would make one hesitate regarding her qualifications was her role in the CIA torture of Al Qaeda suspects. Indeed, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) put a hold on her nomination until she spoke to him about possibly opening up investigations into those war crimes.
"In her open session yesterday, she gave an answer in response to Sen. [Ron] Wyden that suggested the intelligence community might reopen investigations into detention interrogation programs from 2001 to 2006," Mr. Cotton said. "She clarified in the private setting that she had no intention to open up those investigations and expose operations officers inside the CIA to criminal prosecution, or adverse employment action, or even holding it against them in potential future promotions or placements."
Based on this, if some left-wing Democrats voted against her, one would understand. After all, these crimes occurred while George W. Bush was president. The skeletons are in the GOP's closet.
However, when the vote on the Senate floor came out, the vote was 84 in favor and 10 against. Every one of the votes in the negative were from the Republican side of the aisle. That appears to be bipartisan at first glance, but the fact that 10 members of the GOP voted against her despite her clear qualifications suggests there is a core on the hard-right that have reverted to the Party of No stance they had during the Obama years.
In the old days, there were conservative Democrats in the South (segretionist, racist bigots like Strom Thurmond and George Wallace) alongside liberals like Harry Truman and John Kennedy. At the same time, there were liberals in the GOP such as John Chaffee, David Durenberger and John C. Danforth during the first Reagan administration. To assemble a majority the liberals in the GOP often voted with the liberal Democrats while the conservative Democrats and the conservative Republicans were on the same side. For and against, most things were bipartisan. The parties have become much more ideologically coherent, so the need for bipartisanship is lessened.
The Biden administration must take the view that bipartisanship is worthwhile if the Republican support is not conditioned on a diminution of goals. Giving up on those things that got Democrats elected simply because they cannot bring the GOP along is a defeat for the American system. Making deals whereby each side gets something they want is perfectly fine, but giving the minority a veto over what the majority wants to do is a betrayal of the electorate.
© Copyright 2021 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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