Political Parties Overreaching

With their homes metaphorically sliding off a cliff, large numbers of jobs disappearing, and debts piling up for citizens and the government, the American people put out a call for an emergency rescue effort.

Barack Obama was elected to provide some much-needed leadership to guide the nation out of a serious mess. The new administration took office pledging to improve things, but let the impression arise that it was more focused on health care “reform” than on the sick economy.

That’s obviously an oversimplified description, but it is a quick summation of the view of many Americans at this point.

Health care is an important issue, but Obama and the congressional Democrats lost control of the agenda and allowed the debate to drag on far too long. It became entrapped in gobbledygook about the public option and, along with a passive media, proponents let false and misleading claims by opponents dominate discussion.

All of this is now seen in the shadow of the election of Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown to fill the term of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. This mid-term election year was already going to be tumultuous, but the Massachusetts result is interpreted by many as a signal of major changesahead and providing momentum for Republicans across the nation,. This includes Arkansas, where potential candidates are scrambling to match up for a Senate race or jump into competition for previously unexpected open congressional seats.

While too much significance can be assigned to a single election such as that in Massachusetts, there unquestionably is considerable discontent with the Democrats in Washington. That doesn’t necessarily suggest a Republican rout in November, but Obama and Democrats need to overcome a generally anti-Washington sentiment, of which they, as the party in power, are the principal targets.

The Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders have overplayed or certainly misplayed their hand. But Republicans may have done the same in their reflexive opposition to just about anything Obama proposes. Though Republicans attack Obama for not taking a bipartisan approach, there’s no evidence that Republicans were remotely interested in working with him. Seldom in history could you find examples of debate on major issues when there wasn’tat least a small break in party-line voting, but today’s Congress has become a caricature of what’s wrong with party politics.

The death this week of former (1969-87) Maryland Republican Sen. Mac Mathias was a reminder that there have been senators who were willing to dissent from party orthodoxy, a trait little evident in today’s Washington.

For all his oratorical ability, the president has not succeeded in communicating effectively with the public. As seen in his State of the Union address, however, Obama is trying to regain control of the agenda and recognize and respond more directly to middle-class concerns.

He obviously realizes that his party is in a precarious position.

When two Democrats in the Arkansas congressional delegation, Vic Snyder and Marion Berry, recently announced they wouldn’t seek re-election, Republicans were quick to link those actions to the GOP triumph in Massachusetts.

In both cases, personal considerations were apparent factors, but the two retiring Democrats were undoubtedly afflicted by incumbency fatigue and aware of the toxic political atmosphere that currently prevails.

Republicans believe they have a realistic hope of becoming the majority in the Arkansas delegation. That would be a dramatic shift,but displacing Democrats may prove more difficult than some seers suggest.

And Republicans also risk getting bogged down in intramural squabbling, with some associated with the Tea Party movement insisting on a “purity” litmus test for GOP candidates.

Money, as always, will be a factor in this year’s campaigns, even more so after the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back campaign-finance regulations. Prepare for an even greater bombardment of TV ads than in the past.

Republican aspirations will undoubtedly bring considerable cash into campaigns such as that for the Arkansas U.S. Senate position, which will be of the most closely watched nationally, and for which embattled incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln already has raised $7 million.

Obama is trying to reconnect with moderates and relaunch his presidency.

If he can successfully rebound, and the State of the Union address may have been a step in that direction, it will enhance Democratic prospects in the fall.

Both parties have demonstrated a tendency to overreach. Success will go to the candidates and party that do the best job of reaching out to a distressed public rather than overreaching in Washington.

HOYT PURVIS IS A JOURNALISM AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR.