The votes are in, the results are out and the power in the Congress has been divided. In a historic swing for the first time since 1948, the GOP has completely taken over the House, gaining at least 60 seats, while 11 seats remain undecided. Over in the Senate, despite losing six seats, the Democrats retained a narrow majority of 52 seats to the GOP’s 46, leaving two seats in Washington and Alaska undecided. So what’s coming up in the next two years for America?
Nothing, probably. Having been preoccupied with opposing every legislative action proposed by President Obama and his party, it is doubtful that the “Party of No” would have anything to offer with their House majority. In fact, over at the Senate, the current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already declared his goals, which include making Obama a one-term president and repealing accomplishments the Obama administration has made so far.
It is mind-boggling that Republicans could be elected without having any specific plans in mind, other than “not being a Democrat.” In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson’s rise to office was marked by his ability to avoid explaining what he would do once elected. This trend of clueless candidates being elected is extremely worrying, as unemployment remains high and legislative progress in government remains sluggish.
Still, even if the GOP had plans beyond playing the role of anathema to the Obama administration, it is unlikely that they will be able to carry out their legislative plans. While the Democrats retain a majority in the Senate, Republicans will be unable to pass any bills that are opposed by enough Democrats; even the congressional procedure of reconciliation, which requires 51 instead of the conventional 60 votes, would not be sufficient with the GOP’s minority status in the Senate. In addition, the President’s right to veto legislative pieces pose another hurdle to Republican action.
As has been the case for the past two years, some may hope that bipartisanship occurs between the Democrats and Republicans and they compromise on legislation. However, chances of this happening seem very slim, especially with the election of right-wing Tea Party and Tea Party-backed politicians polarizing the political spectrum to unprecedented levels. If, as during the past two years of Democratic majority, bipartisanship remains code for “Democrats giving in to Republican demands,” there will definitely be no cooperation between the two parties. For the Democrats, continuing to accommodate Republican demands and moving farther to the right would put them at a huge risk of further loss by turning off more Democratic voters. Unless Obama and the Democrats wish to suffer defeat again in 2012, we should not expect much bipartisanship.
Unfortunately, that is not all; more things are expected not to happen for the next two years, among them government economic stimuli and climate change legislation. The stimulus, which Democrats and many economists credit for carrying America out of the recession, is a big government agenda universally opposed by Republicans. According to Republicans, however, the best way to fix the economy is to do nothing – the unregulated free market, which brought down the world economy in 2008, would by itself bring the economy up.
Climate change, one of the big issues on which Obama promised to act during his campaign, has been abandoned even by Obama himself as a lost cause. Dozens of House Democrats who supported climate change legislation have been kicked out of the House, while most Republicans now reject anthropogenic climate change and oppose any action to reduce emissions.
Even issues with broad popular support, such as the repeal of DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell), which would end discrimination in the U.S. army, now seem to be slipping away. If anything, the only legislation that would pass is the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich, which would mostly reward Wall Street businesspeople for the mess into which they brought the country.
While I wish this bleak outlook wasn’t true, it seems all to likely to happen given the current conditions. Even worse, it is not unlikely that the 1994 shutdown that occurred during the Bill Clinton administration might occur again, bringing down along with it the once great country of the United States of America.
Will Obama and the Democrats move even farther to the right to accommodate the Republicans, giving way for the Republicans to completely take over in 2012, or will they refuse to cooperate and cause a gridlock in the government, giving them a chance to take back the majority in two years? Only time will tell. Either way, the prospect doesn’t seem promising at all.
Albert Budhipramono ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in biology.
