COLUMN: Prepare yourself for the gridlock
The election is one week away, ladies and gentleman. One week before we are to enjoy two wonderful years of partisan gridlock and bitter rhetoric. So first off, let’s be honest here. The Republicans are going to take the House of Representative and possibly the Senate – depending on if that whack-job Sharron Angle wins in Nevada. They’re primed to make this election theirs. But don’t hold your breath if you are expecting the Republicans to do anything productive once they attain power in January.
As a political junkie I can’t help but watch cable news and political campaigns. The Democrats are confused and in chaos – as usual – and Republican have only one theme, that they support the constitution and oppose President Obama.
Reading over the Republicans’ so called “Pledge to America” and ignoring all the pretty patriotic pictures in between, this so called “Pledge” was nothing short of vague political dribble aimed to upset and rally the masses. It’s easy to see that Republicans are trying to play the “I love the Constitution more than my opponent” card through quotes such as “America is more than a country. America is an idea …”
But what’s sad is that it’s working. People are angry and when they think the country is at stake, they get even angrier. This is how we arrive at entities such as the Tea Party and why Republicans are almost certain to win big next Tuesday.
But after the celebration is long over and the new Congress-people arrive in Washington, the real problems will begin. The 112th Congress will be met by absolute gridlock. The government will effectively become stagnant as every item in Washington, D.C. will be met by partisan bickering. Republican promises such as the repeal of the recent healthcare bill will be outright vetoed by President Obama, and with this last session of Congress as an indicator, the next will be filled with even more filibusters.
Moderate Democrats and Republicans are becoming rarer each election cycle, and with the loss of these people comes the loss of any sanity in our political process. The most stupid and most irrelevant items in the Congress will be used as partisan tactics to win the tiniest of political capital.
But what does this mean? The issue is a two-edged sword and it effects both liberals and conservatives. Gridlock will become the new norm, meaning very few bills will be passed by Congress. Presidents Obama’s agenda will become impossible to implement, but so will curbing some of his policies already in place. Nothing will effectively be done about the debt and deficit because there will be no agreement as what to cut and what taxes to increase.
To put it simply, the next two years will be like living with two bitter roommates. They’ll fight over any issue, blame one another for causing problems and expect you to side with them. Except that in the case of Congress, it’s our entire bloody government acting like children.
And don’t think us Utahns aren’t somehow complicit in this problem. We threw out moderate Bob Bennett and replaced him with the more partisan Mike Lee. Lee is not going to compromise with the Democrats and certainly not during his first two years in office when we are paying the most attention to him. No, we Utahns are just as guilty for the ensuing deadlock that is going to happen.
But with the direction that this country has been heading and the kind of legislation passed lately, perhaps an inept and gridlocked government is not so bad after all. A government that can’t do anything, can’t do anything stupid.
So don’t get your hopes up next Tuesday. There isn’t going to be a wonderful Republican revolution or a return to statesmanlike conduct. Rather expect bitter gridlock and partisanship as we try to navigate the next two years through Washington’s incompetency.
Justin Hinh is a sophomore in political science. He can be reached at justintsn10@gmail.com.