Tea party’s challenge: Change what it means to compromise
The theme of this midterm election is clear: Stop the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda of big-big-bigger government now.
The irony is that, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as one big possible exception, the largest projected losses for the Democrats are not in the most liberal wing of the party. The big losers will be among the Blue Dogs, the party’s self-described moderates.
And they’re going to lose because, while they barked loudly about checking the Dems’ more extreme impulses, in the end they always rolled over.
Many of the Republicans set to take their places are, or have been boosted by, tea partiers. They may not be moderates, but they are like the Blue Dogs in that, sooner or later, they will be asked to stand up for their principles — and against the majority in their own party.
That means they will have to work hard to avoid the Blue Dogs’ fate of submission and eventual irrelevance. And they can only do that by changing the language and currency of compromise.
Going into Tuesday, many tea partiers hold the very word “compromise” in contempt. They have built a phenomenal political movement on their resolute opposition to President Obama and the Democrats. They have also firmly warned the Republican establishment not to expect a return to the GOP’s business as usual.
Having risen from nowhere, they don’t plan to back away from either stance.
But political movements that don’t produce results also don’t survive very long. Simple math — along with Obama’s presence in the White House for two more years; six more years if the GOP blows it — suggests tea-party Republicans won’t have the votes to shrink Washington as they wish all at once.
That said, “compromise” doesn’t have to take the same forms that it historically has taken on Capitol Hill.
It does not have to be a vote for an earmark, or an expansion of government here for a reduction of government there.
It could be agreeing to cut spending first, and revisit tax rates later.
It could be a willingness to give up some popular tax deductions in exchange for reform that flattens and simplifies tax rates overall.
It could be agreeing to cut spending in areas they’d tend to protect — the defense budget comes to mind — in exchange for reductions in departments they’d prefer to target.
It could be a resolve to come together temporarily with anyone, even their ideological opposites, who is prepared to finally quash corporate-welfare programs such as farm subsidies for big agribusiness.
It could be the patience to prioritize the regulations that need the most urgent attention and relief, rather than taking a scattered approach to many areas all at once.
In all these areas and more, it could be moving more slowly than desired, as long as the direction is clear and the progress steady. And, of course, having the wisdom to know when to compromise in these ways and when not to budge.
This midterm election has become more of a national referendum than maybe any such contest before it. The flip side is that, two years from now, these congressional insurgents will be scrutinized like no other freshman class before them.
But they should take confidence from the fact that they overcame all odds, and a substantial smear campaign, to reach the threshold at which they now stand. If they do what’s right, the voters will stick with them in 2012.
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137 comments Add your comment
John
October 30th, 2010
1:37 pm
Dang RW…how about a compromise? 7 1/2 yard penalty since you only took one of my challenges. The games not over yet.
@@
October 30th, 2010
1:44 pm
Oops! Was not talking about Kyle when inserting the words “you’ve” and “you’re”. I was talking about Tea Party candidates.
I’ve seen Democrats and Republicans alike question their qualifications.
CJ
October 30th, 2010
2:02 pm
“[Tea Partiers] have built a phenomenal political movement…”
Kudos to Kyle for the list of compromises that he proposed above. Conservatives aren’t really conservative when they plan to cut spending of programs here while growing spending over there (e.g., defense and farm subsidies). And conservatives aren’t conservative when tax cuts for big business and the wealthiest among us take precedence over a balanced budget. But if Republicans were willing to adopt the kind of compromises that Kyle listed, then I imagine that the left and right could find common ground. Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic.
With regard to the Tea Party phenomena, it is wholly media driven, as evidenced by Sarah Palin’s unearned celebrity and further reinforced by the turnout at today’s Stewart/Colbert rally. The fact is that liberals and moderates have been turning out to rallies by the tens of thousands over the course of the last couple of years (National Equality March: 200,000/One Nation 150,000) only to be dismissed by the media while two Tea Partiers crossing paths in the hallway of an assisted living facility receive widespread coverage.
Whatever happens on Tuesday, we’re in for a wild ride.
Rafe Hollister
October 30th, 2010
2:08 pm
Carlosgvv: You should be tending to your serfs in Venezuela or writing another book to give to your bud, Barry.
Compromise with a Dem means he writes the law as he wants and he asks you to vote for it. If you refuse, you are an obstructionist.
Anyone who wishes to cut DOD beyond the usual Fraud waste Abuse category, should revist the ramp up to the Korean War, when we couldn’t fight for two years because we had no functioning equipment and a small force. Also remember how Carter destroyed the Armed Forces to the point we couldn’t find 8 working helicopters to use to rescue the hostages.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
2:16 pm
RW
Took your advice. Got as far away from the tv as possible. That 1:04 is too funny!!!!
retiredds
October 30th, 2010
2:27 pm
Here is one of the definitions of “compromise” and is the one that I subscribe to:
a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.
If neither parties (Republican, Tea Party, Democrat, Libertarian, Whig, et.al) can accept this definition(or something akin to it)and work with it, the US of A is doomed to partisan bickering, stagnation, and, eventually, the demise of democracy. Compromise is an art and is accomplished by persons of high intellectual, moral, and social standards. It is not, as some have hijacked it to mean, dangerous, weak, or foolish. If you don’t believe me go and read the papers of Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, the Adamses, Patrick Henry, Daniel Webster, et. al. We have none today who can compare to their intellectual acuity and dedication to the founding of a great nation … and they practices the art of compromise. (Can you imagine any of today’s “entertainer” politicians having a debate with the gentlemen mentioned above? Today’s “entertainer” politicians wouldn’t get past the first sentence.)
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
2:31 pm
Techfan
9:44 am
Corporations might not have an actual vote, but most voters I know can’t write checks for a few million dollars to a candidate or cause, Nor can they buy a string of commercials to influence elections.
—————————
Do YOU vote based on commercials?
@@
October 30th, 2010
2:46 pm
Corporations might not have an actual vote, but most voters I know can’t write checks for a few million dollars to a candidate or cause, Nor can they buy a string of commercials to influence elections.
Can’t write checks? They can read, can’t they…..it’s the fine print at the bottom of the ad. Don’t take it at face value…..go online and research. Then ask yourself how they might benefit from the message.
It’s not THAT difficult.
Allen
October 30th, 2010
3:23 pm
Lil’ Barry Bailout: It’s a fact that Congressional Dems and Mr. Obama poll slightly better than Republicans these days.
But general polls are poor predictors of who will actually vote on election day. Republicans are highly energized, and I believe that they will turn out en masse and rack up the victories.
Linda
October 30th, 2010
3:25 pm
DeborahinAthens @ 7:11, Let me repeat O’Donnell’s question. Where does it say in the Constitution that there should be a separation of church & state?
My copy states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
The words, “separation of church & state,” were taken from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Connecticut Baptists.
The first amendment was to protect the people from the govt., not the govt. from the people. The govt. cannot establish a particular religion. It say absolutely nothing about the people being able to pay in public or in a govt. bldg.
Allen
October 30th, 2010
3:31 pm
Compromise implies shared sacrifice for shared gains. Kyle’s proposals don’t include any discernible Democratic priorities, and Kyle seems more open to compromise than much of the rhetoric from Republicans of any stripe suggests.
If this is what our more moderate, reasonable commentators envision as possible compromises, I doubt we will see much cooperation among the parties soon.
Republicans have (all but) won this election without offering policy alternatives — basically on a platform of “reject Democrats!” — and seem likely to govern in similar fashion. Any sort of bipartisan compromise would benefit Mr. Obama, and we’ve already heard that the #1 priority for Republicans is preventing his reelection.
I try to be optimistic about the prospects for compromise in education policy.
Not So Casual Observer
October 30th, 2010
3:32 pm
John @ 12:56,
Progression, or in the political sense, Progressive became a bad word when hijacked by Liberals to replace liberal. Liberal had become a pejorative.
There is nothing progressive about the current administration or the current Congress as the two have one goal – to take the US back to a time when citizens were slaves, slaves to government. The failed Soviet Union is an example. Chains and whips are only the physical means to slavery, while an unmanageable debt and overwhelming taxation achieve the same result without the need for barb wire fences and dogs.
Your 11:01 suggests Republicans’ wish to have Obama be a one term President is to make the country worse off in 2 years. Not so, the next two years will be a referendum on the Congress and the attempt to keep Obama from continuing his destruction of the US. Should Obama keep his pledge to veto legislation the American people see as a return to fiscal sanity, job creation, and stimulating the economy, then Obama will be a one term President.
Not So Casual Observer
October 30th, 2010
3:43 pm
@10:59,
You wrote:
“The legacy of voting for the worst president in modern American history – George Walker Bush.
My gawd, it was patently obvious to anyone with their eyes open, that based on his performance in that 2000 campaign, he was WOEFULLY incapable of doing the job.”
More correctly:
The legacy of voting for the worst president in modern American history – Barack Hussein Obama.
My gawd, it was patently obvious to anyone with their eyes open, that based on his performance in that 2008 campaign, he was WOEFULLY incapable of doing the job.
Obama has formed the most disturbing, and inept, Cabinet in history and the White House staff is either running, or being run, out of town at a rate any Liberal should find alarming. Adding his czars (what an appropriate term for Comrade O and his minions), just magnifies the lack of quality, lack of political savvy, and lack of intellect in this White House.
Jimmy Carter must be pinching himself every morning for the incredible luck the outcome of the 2008 election was for his legacy.
Not So Casual Observer
October 30th, 2010
3:47 pm
carlos @ 8:47,
Actually the Democrats, and Obama, have received the most campaign dollars from Wall Street.
Not So Casual Observer
October 30th, 2010
3:52 pm
DebinAthens,
You wrote:
“The Tea Party candidates and those that stump for them are mostly idiots that can only parrot the catch phrases, like their goddess, Sarah Palin, does.”
There is soooo much in this one sentence to attack but I will start with:
The Obama supporters who thought Palin was the Democrat VP candidate in 2008 when questioned during exit polls.
The same Obamatrons who thought Obama was opposed to abortion.
The same Obamtrons (hereafter TSO) who did not know the name of the President at the time.
TSO who did not recognize the name of Colin Powell.
And there was so much more.
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
4:53 pm
SoCo,
That was a very wise move. It was pretty bad and even though I’m still going to vote for Monds on the first go ’round his only real quality attribute today was that he wasn’t one of the other two.
John,
The penalty was for mixing and matching definitions that don’t apply. Your second challenge was pretty lame and I was trying to be nice to you by not mentioning it, but if you insist the answer would be the same as for my employer.
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
4:58 pm
Turns out Sean Hannity was right–the Idiot Messiah’s associations with racist preachers and domestic terrorists should have been a clear indication of his hatred for America. The Idiot Messiah sees it as his mission to make sure “America’s chickens come home to roost”.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:03 pm
RW
Thanks for the heads up. I’m thinking about leaving the governor’s position blank. I wonder if they would count my vote if I wrote in Yosemite Sam?
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:08 pm
I wonder if they would count my vote if I wrote in Yosemite Sam?
SoCo,
They wouldn’t since he’s not registered as a write candidate, but it’s as good a protest vote as I’ve heard.
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:19 pm
OH NO!!! Now you need to stay away from Fox-5. These guys are going at it again.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:22 pm
but it’s as good a protest vote as I’ve heard.
I was listening to CNN. They have a “none of the above” choice on their ballot. That’s what we need.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:25 pm
Listening to them debate has to be as much fun as listening to white noise. I’ll pass…
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:26 pm
CNN has a ballot? Must be that Citizens United thing again.
/You are talking about Nevada aren’t yo
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:30 pm
Never mind, I just saw that California has NOTA too.
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:32 pm
YO
Where did the u? go in my 5:26
(IHB)
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:32 pm
Oops. CNN was talking about Nevada having a NOTA choice… oops
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
5:36 pm
NOTA is gutless.
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:40 pm
I was just scanning a story before and it looks like California doesn’t really have NOTA.
vuduchld
October 30th, 2010
5:43 pm
With noncompoops like you calling for the “C word” I would suggest our President take a nuclear earth approach when dealing with these idioitc Teabeggers. I want him to use the veto pen at every turn, shutting down kooky proposals we know the near-do-wells will put forth. I also want these same Teabeggers to gut their own constiutents, you included. If they want to reduce debt, then begin with bloated programs in their own backyard and that includes their salaries and benefits. If these bottom feeders are so in love with “constititionalist principles” then they ought to work for free. They can’t run or hide anymore, either put up or shut up!
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:46 pm
NOTA is gutless.
No. Voting for someone who you think will be an abyssmal failure is gutless. At some point you have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything.
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
5:53 pm
Abysmal failure? I didn’t vote for Obama!
Ten percent unemployment.
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
5:57 pm
Monds stepped up his game considerably in this Fox-5 debate.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
5:59 pm
Ten percent unemployment.
That means that 9 out of 10 are employed or under employed. Statistics can be twisted to push whatever position you want them to.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
6:00 pm
RW
Enough to garner a vote or should I stick with ol’ Yosemite?
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
6:03 pm
You really oughtn’t mention underemployment or those who have given up. In that scenario, the Idiot Messiah and his failed trillion-dollar “stimulus” have delivered near 20% unemployment.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
6:08 pm
Didn’t mention those who gave up. Under employed still have a job. Therefore, they would not count as UNemployed. The unemployment numbers came in under two different administrations, so I’m guessing you mean “Idiot Messiah” for both Obama and Bush, right?
RW-(the original)
October 30th, 2010
6:18 pm
SoCo,
I think he earned a vote. It’ll at least force the other two to battle it out for another month. Maybe by then Barnes will figure out that he didn’t just voluntarily leave the Governors office the last time.
Southern Comfort
October 30th, 2010
6:24 pm
RW
Thanks for the heads up. If I wasn’t so dissatisfied with the choices, I would have early voted already. I’ll have to save Yosemite for later (hopefully that later won’t happen).
rj
October 30th, 2010
8:32 pm
Very simply put, this election is a referendum on Obama and the supportive members of Congress.
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 30th, 2010
8:39 pm
Actually, no. One of the two presidents you named have produced unemployment that has been higher in EVERY month if his administration than in ANY month of the other administration.
The Idiot Messiah is the one who’s presided over higher and more chronic unemployment, and spent a trillion dollars borrowed from China in producing such stellar results.
Idiot Messiah: Fail.
Eve of Destruction? « The Georgia Column
October 30th, 2010
9:14 pm
[...] AJC’s Kyle Wingfield writes that “[Tea Party candidates] are like the Blue Dogs in that, sooner or later, they will be asked [...]
just me
October 30th, 2010
11:09 pm
Anybody bother to tell “Lil Barry Bailout” that the first bailout was completed while Bush was in office (and he was in full agreement). The short memories of Republicans and neoconservatives is chilling. Reagan and Nixon would be ashamed of today’s Republican party.
John Franklin (JF) McNamara
October 31st, 2010
12:18 am
“If they do what’s right, the voters will stick with them in 2012.”
Classic…the lawmakers in power for the last two years thought they were doing what was right. Making decision in what were termed to be dire times, they got us through the storm. Aside from Healthcare, they made decisions that helped guide our economy out of the biggest recession since the great depression.
What do they get for it? Elected out because Republicans are angry that Obama is President and they could only get the economy growing slowly. I only wish doing the right thing got you elected.
If you haven’t been paying attention, getting your base the scaredest and maddest, getting the cruelest propaganda out there even if its not factual, getting plenty of funding and advo dollars from big business to do whatever they say, and catering to people who are fringe racist wins. That’s been the Republican playbook, and sadly, it worked. I’ll bet a lot of those who did the right thing, helped stabilize our country, and are facing losses are pretty irritated by your last line.
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 31st, 2010
6:51 am
just me
11:09 pm
—————————————-
Reagan might indeed by ashamed of 2006’s Republican party–they gave us too much spending and too much government (although nothing like the Idiot Messiah and the Democrats from 2006-present).
We’ll see what our President Reagan might have thought about 2010’s Republican party beginning in January.
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 31st, 2010
6:57 am
John Franklin (JF) McNamara
12:18 am
I only wish doing the right thing got you elected.
—————————————–
Ten percent unemployment, a health care overhaul that requires everyone to fork over to the big insurance companies, keeping Gitmo open, continuing Bush’s two wars going (escalating one), and trillion dollar deficits are the “right thing”?
Lil' Barry Bailout
October 31st, 2010
7:51 am
BTW, just me, since you’re so interested in what our President Reagan might think, what do you suppose He would think of today’s DEMOCRAT party?
CJ
October 31st, 2010
9:30 am
CBS News did an analysis of the Stewart/Colbert crowd and estimated that 215,000 people were on hand. The network relied on the same company to estimate the crowd size at Glenn Beck’s event in August, and found 87,000 people.
metoo
October 31st, 2010
10:39 am
Republicans talk big, but Gwinnett county is proof they are a bunch of losers.
hryder
October 31st, 2010
10:58 am
Far too many politicos believe that compromise is something that is for their opposition, the Big “O”, being a primary example. He will not even truely compromise with the majority of the American voters, nor will Pelosi or Reid. This is why the mentioned triad needs to be removed from their respective offices via balloting as soon as possible. Remember that as the leader of the majority in either the Senate or House one is to lead with a national view, not personal, district, or even state agenda. Not one of the three beings mentioned has followed the expressed desires of the vast majority of the legally registered voters of The United States during the last fourteen months!
Michael H. Smith
October 31st, 2010
11:34 am
Only time will tell in which direction the politicians will take us and the country Kyle. One poll observed said 65% of Americans want to replace the entire present Congress altogether. Neither political party, Democrat or Republican, should take much solace from that news.
Whether the Tea Party movement evolves into a viable political party depends mostly on what these Republicans (closet libertarian) likely to take control of Congress will do after the election.
Jobs (the creation of living wage private sector non-union jobs) and government spending will remain atop the American people’s agenda. If the rest of America feels as I do, then we have COMPROMISED and have all been COMPRISED to no reasonable end.
Tea Party or no… If the Repub-libertarian don’t reform of their George Bush ways, a new political party will emerge.