California Conservative

Based on John Harwood’s article, it appears that President Obama isn’t interested in being a postpartisan president. (Why should this campaign promise last, right?)

There is an easier way.

An easier way, that is, for President Obama to achieve his huge health care and energy goals than begging, pleading and negotiating for help from Republicans. The absence of bipartisan consensus, after all, has prevented strong action on either front for decades.

The easier way would let the president negotiate with only fellow Democrats. The deal they strike could pass Congress this year by a simple majority vote — in a single budget bill with historic health and energy policy changes that Republicans could not filibuster.

Here is how: Congressional Democrats pursue Mr. Obama’s agenda under the arcane rules of “budget reconciliation.” Here is the problem: By disarming the legislative minority, that path would cause the opposite of political reconciliation with Republicans.

Indeed, Republicans warn that such a move would be a hostile act, as bitterly divisive, one leader cautions, as President George W. Bush’s conduct of the Iraq war.

“If President Obama takes a look at what happened to President Bush, he won’t want to,” said Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. “It would be very difficult for Obama to have a successful presidency.”

President Obama certainly could attempt to execute this strategy. When green energy and Cap and Trade are the spotlight of energy policy instead of increased drilling on the OCS, people won’t just be upset. When health care reform drives up health care costs and adds $1,000,000,000,000 in additional federal spending per year, people will be red hot upset.

If President Obama thinks that the Cincinnati Tea Party was big, he ain’t seen nothing yet.

When those programs turn out to be losers, there will only be one group to affix blame to. HINT: It won’t affix to Republicans because they won’t participate in such folly.

One thing I’d say to Sen. Alexander, though, is that he’s assuming that President Obama puts a higher priority on re-election than on passing his radical agenda. I don’t think that’s the right assumption to make. I’m not saying that President Obama doesn’t care about getting re-elected. I’m saying it appears that he’s willing to sacrifice a second term if that’s what’s necessary to achieve his radical vision for America.

“He strongly believes that sustainable economic recovery depends on major action,” said John D. Podesta, who directed Mr. Obama’s presidential transition. “He’s not going to give that up to make people feel the process is somehow sweeter.”

That’s certainly an option in President Obama’s arsenal but it’s what will dramatically drop his approval ratings. Mr. Podesta’s statement is foolish because there won’t be a sustained recovery if President Obama’s economic plan is enacted. Dramatically driving the cost of energy up while raising taxes on small businesses and maintaining an unsustainable deficit year after year certainly won’t produce prosperity.

Quite the opposite. What it will create is dramatic inflation spikes, high unemployment and a shortage of money for small business loans. Does that sound like the pathway to sustained prosperity?

Technorati Tags: Economy, Partisanship, President Obama, Deficits, Inflation, Energy, Health Care, Cap And Trade, Tax Increases, John Podesta, Election 2010