Promises to keep

Robert Showah

Opinion Editor

With great passion comes great promises.

Last Tuesday, Republicans rode in on a wave, winning a victory of great proportions. They preached to every corner of the country and across the heartland, saying that they would be the change voters sought in these difficult times. But they stopped short in their victory speeches, strategically acknowledging that President Obama was still in charge. A clever way to hype a historic victory while preemptively denying responsibility for anything that may go wrong in the next two years.

Clearly, there is an imbalance in messaging. Republicans spent over a year telling Americans what great things they would do, but soon after voters purchased their product they read the fine print disclaimer: “Notice: may not realistically accomplish goals set forth in campaign.” Sound familiar?

In other words, the amount of promise Republicans campaigned on does not equate to the amount of control they now have in Congress.

Of course, I can imagine it is difficult to avoid getting wrapped up in cheering crowds while feeding angry voters promises and rhetoric, much like giving a dog treats.

The fact that Republicans made absolutely sure that people heard is that it is still the president that sets the agenda, and that this is still the Obama administration further underscores the line they were toeing between themselves and the president’s responsibility.

Unfortunately, Americans have short memories, and they won’t remember that disclaimer, much the same way nobody remembers President Obama saying that everything he planned to accomplish as president would not be done in four or even eight years.

It is worth noting that Americans do not assess the presidency the same way as Congress. For example, President Obama holds an approval rating in the mid-40 percent range while Congress is somewhere in the high teens. Americans intuitively associate greater power with one figure rather than a raucous, bickering 538-member body. Since the president is one person, it is easier to place blame.

While the president has more blame heading in his direction, the ambitious agenda Republicans have set for themselves is almost certain to disappoint voters, assuming they do not delude themselves into continuing to support a party that they realize actually cannot make change as promised – at least before 2012.

The blame evolves from the ambiguous claim that either party is not listening to “the American people,” a phrase so often used it has completely lost its meaning. The fact that legislation like the stimulus and healthcare laws were not popular needs to be distinguished between the fact that Americans are united in disapproving of certain policies but divided in the solutions. When people are divided, nobody is supposed to get their way.

Republicans claimed in their victory speeches and at press conferences after the election that their goal, with control over one chamber of Congress, would be to do things like “reduce the size of government,” “create jobs,” “repeal the healthcare law,” and “cut federal spending.” They are not going to accomplish these tasks in full and because they won’t, conservatives can expect to be disappointed.

After this election, Republicans nor Democrats will get exactly what they want. Ideally, both sides will receive half of what they had originally intended. Instead of a complete repeal of the healthcare law, perhaps a select few provisions will be altered.

What “the American people” really want is for both parties to cooperate. As much news exposure the extreme right wing received, Independents owned this election. The real message voters sent last week was that they did not want a full pendulum swing to the right but rather moderation and to tone down the fear some have that government has become overtly invasive.

If Republicans are going to admit that last week was not a mandate for their party, they need to cut the rhetoric that last week’s elections indicated America’s sudden craving for Republican policies. If this was not a mandate for Republicans but instead a repudiation of certain Democratic policies, then bipartisanship, or at the very least bipartisan rhetoric, should follow, not wildly irresponsible statements like those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who stated that the sole goal of Republicans over the next two years is to make Obama a one-term president.

Republicans must build up the courage to compromise. Last week’s elections were no friend to the extreme right or left wing of either party. However, it was a blessing (granted the bar has been lowered for what a blessing is in Washington) for Independents, also known as the majority of Americans, and the people who not only elected the Republicans last week, but President Obama and the Democrats two years ago.