Issue 2013: Unlock the Partisan Grid Lock

by Eric Wang

In the past four years, Obama’s support rate has dropped significantly. People seem to have lost the passion and the resolution they had the day Obama won the presidency. The most important reason of the all is that people didn’t see the revolutionary change that could solve all the problems and open a new era as they expected. However, is it not that Obama is incapable of promoting change, it is because that Obama couldn’t. The campaign between two parties in expressing their own interests and seeking reelection has always occurred in U.S. history, but it has become exceedingly furious in the past few years. Every attempt Obama made has faced great opposition from the Republicans. As the Democrat Representative Mike Thompson said, it’s like the Republican agenda became making sure President Obama did not win re-election.

However, Republicans are not the only side who is involved in this partisan feud. Mike Thompson himself has voted his party’s line 92.2% of the time, and this is not an extreme example. The average Democrat votes with the party 93% of the time, while that number for Republicans isn’t much different. Now the two-party system has already turned away from the intention of the Founders. The members of Congress usually view the interests of their parties as primary, instead of representing the interests of citizens. As Joseph Lieberman, who has represented Connecticut in the Senate for 23 years, said in his speech, “too often people… who come to government in Washington with the best of intentions end up putting their parties’ interests ahead of the country’s interests?”

This partisan gridlock does great harm to the current situation, especially in light of the still-terrible economy status. For U.S economy to get back in order, long term economic policies are required, which may take much longer than a presidential term. Both parties must cooperate to get things done.

Before the 2012 election, the politicians had hoped that the election would resolve the struggle and end the gridlock. As Representative Paul Ryan said, one side would gain the moral authority to impose permanent and fundamental reform. But it didn’t happen this way. After the election, things seem to remain the same. Democrats have the presidency and Senate, while Republicans still control the House. However, there is positive side of the election. Obama will no longer have to seek re-election. The most extreme Republican candidates, Richard Mourdock and Todd Aiken have lost their previous positions. Obama said in his acceptance speech, “In the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with the leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together.”

He said that before, but this time it’d better be true. The leaders for both parties have to understand the reality that they can’t get everything they want and no one can get everything he/she wants. To fix this broken democratic system, it will be impossible to pass a new Amendment that changes the form of politics. Therefore compromise is the only way and the most essential way to solve the problems such as fiscal cliff, before they are no longer problems, but disasters.