Congress today is certainly very different than it was in the nottoo-distant past.
The dramatic decline in the number of moderates on Capitol Hill, or at least the decline in the number willing to buck the extremes, has significantly changed the way things get done - or don’t get done - in Washington.
It is not just the weak leadership in House and Senate, it is the near disappearance of swing blocks within Congress that helps make Congress so ineffective today.
For a long period after World War II, moderate and liberal Republicans and conservative and moderate Democrats were decisive factors in reaching agreement and compromise, a term that seems to have negative connotations in certain political circles these days.
Congress has had low points and periods of stalemate before, but seldom on a sustainedbasis such as the disgraceful and damaging deadlock we are currently experiencing.
With the current Congress, we are hearing the same song, 19th verse.
Democrats have been frequently floundering, hardly harmonious.
Republicans have been more disciplined, often forming a Greek chorus from which we hear chants of “class warfare” and “job-killing taxes.”
Today’s quagmire didn’t develop overnight.
And a variety of factors contributed to the polarized paralysis in Washington. A few decades ago there was a strong presence of southern Democratsin Washington. Now, almost all those from the south are Republicans, depleting the ranks of conservative-moderate Democrats. Arkansas was the last holdout, maintaining a Democratic majority in its delegation until this year. And for many years legislators from Arkansas and some neighboring states exercised disproportionate power in Congress, with those from the southern and southwestern regions holding key committee positions. Often, they held the balance of power and were in a spot to do some significant bargaining.
Many expect Republicans to sweep the congressional elections in Arkansas next year, taking all four House seats, particularly since Rep. Mike Ross, the lone current Democratic House member in the delegation, is not seeking re-election.
He is expected to be a gubernatorial candidate in 2014. Ross has been a part of the dwindling bandof conservative Blue Dog Democrats in the House.
Like Rep. Dan Boren, who represents eastern Oklahoma, adjacent to Arkansas, Ross decided not to test his chances next year.
Although incumbents Ross and Boren won’t be on the 2012 ballot, there’s a chance that some of those who do seek re-election may encounter a broad anti-incumbent attitude.
The public disgust with the Washington shenanigans could result in a broadgauged “throw the rascals out” sentiment that would hit both parties.
We are in the midst of what might be called the budget wars - but the continuing conflict is not always as much about the budget as it is about scoring political points.
A sad trend, which has become more pronounced since it began in the 1970s, is that too many votes in Congress are simply for the purpose of trying to make the opposition look bad, trying to force theminto what would appear to be an unpopular vote, and then using those votes for simplistic and misleading TV campaign attack ads.
And the parties are more concerned about engineering victories for their candidates and raising campaign funds than with resolving serious policy issues. We need more members who aren’t afraid to exercise a little constructive independence and not be beholden to the party leadership at every turn.
It is easier these days to be an automatic “no” in Congress than to try to reach across the political aisle and find mutually acceptable solutions
This week another breakdown may have been narrowly (and temporarily) averted when we saw a flicker of bipartisan cooperation - over funding for disaster relief, which should hardly be the subject of dispute. Even assistance to those hit by tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and droughtbecomes a political wedge for some, however.
Fear-mongering, brinkmanship, and legislative hostage-taking and blackmail have become the defining characteristics of Congress. And some argue that nothing will really change until after the 2012 elections, if then.
But that is a wait we can’t afford.
I’m reminded of the book that a young John F. Kennedy wrote, “Why England Slept,” about England’s failure to confront growing threats to the country and the world in the 1930s. And a second Kennedy book, “Profiles in Courage,” relates the heroic stories of Americans who took courageous action at key junctures in our history.
We need to wake up.
And we need courageous leaders who will look beyond political lines in the sand.
HOYT PURVIS IS A JOURNALISM AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR.
Opinion, Pages 13 on 10/02/2011