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Friday, November 14, 2008
Will Republicans give President Obama a fair shake?
Andrea Cornell Sarvady, a left-leaning columnist, writes the commentary this week and Shaunti Feldhahn, a right-leaning columnist, responds.
Rebuttal
I’m utterly perplexed by Andy’s belief that those bitter, angry Republicans will try to undercut our new president instead of healing wounds and moving forward. Wait a second: For the last eight years, hasn’t it been the liberal ideologues who have been daily trashing our current president, practically seeming to hope he messed up the country just to prove how wrong we were to elect him?
The pre-election press proves the difference. Google “If Obama loses” and countless articles come up about possible riots, “liberal rage” demonstrations, petitions saying John McCain stole the election, how to become a Canadian citizen and so on. You’ll find David Swanson of Democrats.com encouraging a huge protest on Washington, or Jesse Jackson signing a “Pledge of Action” on www.nomorestolenelections.org. When one looks up “If McCain loses,” you see no advance talk of riots. Instead you see pre-election articles focused on the philosophical “direction of the Republican Party” questions that are, in fact, currently being debated.
Democrats may not believe this, but most conservatives are proud of the cultural step forward that Obama’s election represents, even as we disagree with his likely policy priorities. And most prominent conservative and party leaders have publicly issued calls to work with and, above all, pray for our president-elect. Indiana congressman Mike Pence recently told the Associated Press that Republican leaders would certainly work to counter the positions held by the overwhelming Democrat majority, but that, “It’s going to be a cheerful opposition.” And South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford penned an eloquent op-ed for CNN about looking honestly at the conservative failures, such as abandoning principles of spending and borrowing obscene amounts of money.
By contrast, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid publicly threatened to strip Sen. Joe Lieberman of leadership for supporting McCain. Not the best way to reject partisan politics as usual.
Going forward, conservative lawmakers will diligently work to oppose sweeping changes such as “redistribution-of-wealth” taxes, greater unionization, universal health care, and bailing out whatever industry asks for it. Yet all Americans hope that partisans on both sides will take the high road to act in the best interest of the country; which means avoiding the bitter rhetoric of the last decade. Of course, that may take a lot more prayer.
Commentary
By Andrea Cornell Sarvady
“I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” There’s a line that came back to haunt President Bush after his win in 2004.
Barack Obama wisely refrains from crowing about his political capital, despite an even larger win. Still, no one should expect Republicans to abandon principled disagreement, crucial to a true democracy. Yet when does patriotic dissent turn into obstruction? I fear that certain campaign tactics and the current state of the GOP might cloud any chance for an open-minded electorate.
Consider the view many mainstream conservatives have of Obama: a Muslim masquerading as a Christian, hiding possible ties to terrorism. President Bush has been roundly criticized for behavior many consider rash, even dangerous, yet no one ever accused him of being in bed with al-Qaida. Conservatives continue to share these alarming rumors, yet just what are their shared principles? A cohesive philosophy of governance would enable them to focus on distinguishing between policies that deserve support and those that deserve a battle. Right now, however, the only bond among Republicans is a mutual fear of Democrats in power.
Many saw the 2000 campaign as a “stolen” election, a poisonous stew of vote tampering and a highly partisan Supreme Court. Nonetheless, Democrats were comforted by Bush’s solidarity with Mayor Giuliani at Ground Zero; plenty even rooted for the direction of the war at one point. In 2003, a Los Angeles Times poll found that more than seven out of 10 independents and Democrats said that they supported our actions in Iraq.
Have the Democrats returned to grave distrust of their Republican president? Sure, along with many others who voted him into office. So let’s forget about who deserves “political capital”; with a troubled economy and two wars, there are bigger issues at stake. Instead let’s look back on a call for bipartisanship that we all found compelling.
In a tremendous concession speech, Sen. McCain graciously urged all his fellow citizens to offer President-elect Obama “our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity…”
Is that too much to ask? Only if you love winning more than you love your country.