Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org
With the rise of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, lots has been written about the emergence of "post-partisan" politics (see Washington Post article, or Bill Bradley's blog, to name a few). To me, the appeal of both candidates is that they are great communicators who have picked up on the fact that lots of people in this country are tired of slash and burn politics.
Even though they both have records that could easily be characterized as "extreme" by their opponents (Obama has very high "liberal" voting scores in the Senate, while Huckabee is a Christian conservative who doesn't believe in evolution), their basic message is one of inclusion, rather than division. It's no wonder that this type of message is working well at a time when the only entity with lower approval scores than the President is Congress. Folks really do seem to be fed up with the rancor that has characterized Washington over the last 15 years.
And that period of rancor has seen the workings of government almost grind to a halt. While Congress was designed by the framers to be an incremental institution (remember that whole metaphor with the Senate being the saucer that cools the overheated tea in the cup of the people's passions that is the House?), it seems to get less and less done with each passing day. Indeed, Congress can barely get an appropriations bill passed these days, regardless of who is in charge.
Partisan division and bickering is nothing new, but lots of folks have written about the fact that members of Congress spend less and less time working across party lines for the good of the country, and the results speak for themselves.
We've always believed that oceans were a true bipartisan issue, with supporters and opponents in both parties, and a need to work across the aisle to get things done. Our endorsement decisions at Ocean Champions have reflected that belief.
So, from the perspective of the oceans, it would be good to see a presidential candidate win who has a "mandate from the middle." It's the job of the President to set the tone in Washington, and whether it's Obama (that's where my money is at the moment) or Huckabee (probably running for V.P.) or a resurgent McCain (who would have thought it six months ago), I think there's a good chance that we'll see a very different tone in our nation's capitol a year from now.
Not that any of the candidates necessarily care about the oceans, but the oceans would definitely benefit from a different political mood. God knows it can't get any worse.
Next week: Why Ocean Champions doesn't endorse a candidate for President.
Comments
"a need to work across the aisle to get things done. Our endorsement decisions at Ocean Champions have reflected that belief." We practice our belief in bipartisanship by looking beyond the pundits and the talk, we look to the actions. Senator Obama entered the race with "a mandate from the left." The left is outraged whenever Republican Senators are countenanced by any Democrats. Most vociferously are the cries when a Democratic Senator on the Arm Services Committee, chaired by a Democrat, votes according to Committee recommendations. Senator Clinton has worked one-on-one with more Republicans (including conservatives like Senator Shelby to block the Administration reneging on troop-signing bonuses!) significantly more times than has Senator Obama worked across the aisle. Clinton's bipartisan work has accomplished far more for citizens than has taking liberal eloquence to the moral high road.
Tuesday, New Hampshire indisputably chose familiar proven experience over masterfully articulated hopefulness. The New England state, known for a common, coarse-grained, light-colored, hard igneous rock called granite, chose one woman's demonstrated competence over castles-in-the-air. Personally, I hope others who reside beyond the granite state will see the common sense in New Hampshire ways.
In Maine, Senator Collins claims to be as bipartisan as Senator Snow. Yet, her record of votes demonstrates consistent by-the-party voting unlike Snow. Congressman Allen's voting record, for the same number of years of office, show time after time bipartisan leadership, for example on prescription drugs and oceans. Party membership aside, Allen's voting record is more bipartisan than is Collins'.
Clearly it is the job of Ocean Champion candidates for Senate and House to advance bipartisan tones in Washington. I am convinced we'll see a very different tone than that of the Bush and liberal punditry purveyors in our nation's capitol a year from now.
Posted by: Rob Moir | January 10, 2008 12:09 PM