By David S. Broder
The voters' message is getting through, not only in settling
the fights for the Republican and Democratic nominations but in changing the
mind-set of
The clearest evidence of the change is what happened last
week on the economic stimulus bill. A week ahead of their self-imposed
deadline, the House and Senate, by overwhelming votes, sent to President Bush
almost exactly the kind of relief measure he had sought for the staggering
economy.
It was a dramatic reversal of the gridlock that had
characterized executive-congressional relations throughout 2007, and it
reflects the recognition by both Republicans and Democrats of the public
disenchantment with official
As one example of the turnabout that has taken place,
consider the comments of House Minority Leader John Boehner just before the
380-to-34 vote to approve Senate amendments and send the bill to the president.
"Over the course of the last year," the Ohio
Republican said, "the speaker [Nancy Pelosi] and I didn't have a policy
conversation. I can tell you that we have had about 25 over the last several
weeks. And for the health of our institution, I think it is good to come
together and find common ground where we can. And I am glad that we were able
to find common ground on this economic growth package, and I am hopeful that we
will continue to try to find places where we can work together to solve
problems that the American people expect us to solve."
Pelosi, for her part, was equally effusive, recalling that
"it was only about 2 1/2 weeks ago" that she was on the phone with
Bush, offering to push an accelerated timetable in response to his proposal for
a $150 billion package of anti-recession measures.
Bypassing the usual committee process, she and Boehner
negotiated the legislation with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and quickly
got it passed on the floor. The Senate Finance Committee wrote its own version
and, when that failed by one vote to win the 60 needed for passage, Majority
Leader Harry Reid quickly accepted the suggestion of Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell that the most vital parts of the revised plan be added to the House
bill by amendment. That was done 91 to 6.
Time will tell whether the stimulus package -- blessed by
leading economists of both parties -- will be timely and substantial enough to
ward off a full-scale recession. But as a symbol of
Toward the end of the debate, Sen. Lamar Alexander of
"They would like for us to come and focus our attention
on big problems that affect everyday Americans -- whether it is helping each
American have health-care insurance, whether it is keeping our jobs from going
overseas, whether it is the $3 price of gasoline -- and work together in a
principled way to solve it.
"They do not mind our having big debates on big issues,
about big principles such as liberty versus security or terrorism. What they do
not like is the 'playpen' politics, when we bring out the charts and hire the
campaign strategists and degenerate into what ought to be in a kindergarten or
in a political campaign."
Alexander had it exactly right. And so did Rep. Barney
Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who helped frame the housing part of the
stimulus package. He noted that because of the short-term urgency of the
recession threat, "we are able to come together in a bipartisan way."
"And," he said, "partisanship is, I believe,
a much unfairly maligned concept. Partisanship is essential to a healthy
democracy. There has never been a self-governing polity in the history of the
world, I believe, of any size where political parties did not emerge, because
large numbers of people trying to govern themselves need an organizing
principle other than the authority of the leadership."
Alexander and Frank are two of a growing number of