Lots of great points here, Kent, most of which I completely agree with.
I do have a bit more nuanced view on the topic of compromise, and how it pertains to today's GOP. You're right in that congressional Republicans are currently blowing opportunity after opportunity to get things they say they want, because not enough of them are willin…
Lots of great points here, Kent, most of which I completely agree with.
I do have a bit more nuanced view on the topic of compromise, and how it pertains to today's GOP. You're right in that congressional Republicans are currently blowing opportunity after opportunity to get things they say they want, because not enough of them are willing to compromise. They'd rather get invited onto cable-news and brag about how they're not caving into "the establishment" than make progress on parts of their stated agenda.
Right now, for example, Biden is trying to work a deal that includes serious border-policy improvements, in conjunction with Ukraine funding. I always strongly prefer such initiatives be done separately through congress, but this is an unusually good opportunity to gain ground on one of Republicans' key issues. Yet, they're going to tank it because A) Trump doesn't want such progress made, because he thinks it will hurt his re-election bid, and B) a sector of congressional Republicans are on an anti-Ukraine posturing kick.
As a frustrated Dan Crenshaw said the other day, "So you want Russia to win more than you want border policy changes?”
Trump telling Republicans to oppose immigration reform seems like a variation of what happened in 1948. The Republican Congress did very little. Truman called a special session and basically sent the Republican agenda for consideration. Congress voted down most of the agenda, believing Truman would get credit and improve his standing in the polls. The strategy backfired. By rejecting their own agenda, Truman won reelection, and Republicans lost control of Congress.
By telling Republicans to balk at the compromise bill in the Senate, Trump may be dooming his reelection, and handing the House to the Democrats.
But then, those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
Lots of great points here, Kent, most of which I completely agree with.
I do have a bit more nuanced view on the topic of compromise, and how it pertains to today's GOP. You're right in that congressional Republicans are currently blowing opportunity after opportunity to get things they say they want, because not enough of them are willing to compromise. They'd rather get invited onto cable-news and brag about how they're not caving into "the establishment" than make progress on parts of their stated agenda.
Right now, for example, Biden is trying to work a deal that includes serious border-policy improvements, in conjunction with Ukraine funding. I always strongly prefer such initiatives be done separately through congress, but this is an unusually good opportunity to gain ground on one of Republicans' key issues. Yet, they're going to tank it because A) Trump doesn't want such progress made, because he thinks it will hurt his re-election bid, and B) a sector of congressional Republicans are on an anti-Ukraine posturing kick.
As a frustrated Dan Crenshaw said the other day, "So you want Russia to win more than you want border policy changes?”
But when Trump was still in office, he caved to Schumer and congressional Democrats quite a bit. He didn't merely compromise with them; he often gave away the store. I wrote about this a few times: https://www.bernardgoldberg.com/p/trump-sides-with-the-dems-rinos-apparently-to-blame
Republicans went right along with such things back then, in service to Trump, which I find ironic to the current situation.
Trump telling Republicans to oppose immigration reform seems like a variation of what happened in 1948. The Republican Congress did very little. Truman called a special session and basically sent the Republican agenda for consideration. Congress voted down most of the agenda, believing Truman would get credit and improve his standing in the polls. The strategy backfired. By rejecting their own agenda, Truman won reelection, and Republicans lost control of Congress.
By telling Republicans to balk at the compromise bill in the Senate, Trump may be dooming his reelection, and handing the House to the Democrats.
But then, those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.