The myriad problems facing America will remain unresolved in 2010 if lawmakers in Washington continue to behave as Democrats and Republicans, instead of as members of Congress.
The most salient comment by President Obama in Wednesday night’s State of the Union speech dealt with that reality.
“I will not give up on changing the tone of our politics. I know it’s an election year … but we still need to govern,” Obama said. “To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well.”
The president referred to the party breakdown in the U.S. Senate, which now has Democrats with a 59 to 41 majority. In the Senate, it takes 60 votes to prevent the minority party from blocking votes on bills with a filibuster. In filibusters, the underdog party basically dodges the decision by talking nonstop.
The current situation in D.C. is not astonishing. Midterm elections are this fall, and historically the party in the White House loses congressional seats in those years. A president begins pushing an agenda forward, those unhappy with the changes get angry, natural disasters happen, tragedies occur, and controversies crop up. Suddenly, the newly elected president isn’t so popular, and his party pays for it.
That reality alone would lead current Republicans to ratchet up their resistance to Obama’s initiatives this year. But the historic victory by Republican Scott Brown in the race for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat previously filled by the late Edward Kennedy changed the game. If that heavily Democratic state can elect a Republican, then it could happen anywhere — and maybe everywhere — the GOP figures. Thus, posturing for this November’s election seems certain to saturate every significant decision on Capitol Hill.
In practice, Obama’s 2008 campaign promise to calm the partisan rancor that produces only incremental progress and lots of nasty barbs now seems to have backfired. Wooing conservatives angers the liberals in Obama’s own party. Centrist Democrats are cast as turncoats by the left, yet have their sincerity questioned by the right. If Obama stands his ground on an issue, Republicans lock arms in group defiance.
The politicians should remember, first, the election that put most of them in office — the one in 2008. Americans flowed to the polls in record numbers, hungering for an end to a dismal, painful era. The country voted for resolution and action on serious dilemmas. The worst recession since World War II was building up steam just as President Bush was leaving office. Wars raged in Iraq and Afghanistan. The financial and housing markets had collapsed. Home foreclosures had begun to soar. Unemployment was on its way to double digits, where it now sits. Health care, education and energy concerns were waiting to be addressed, too.
The nation voted for change, not the prevention of change. Veteran lawmakers now voicing cynical shock that long-festering problems haven’t been cured in the first year of Obama’s term are not solving anything.
In his State of the Union speech, Obama said, “I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change — or that I can deliver it.” That disappointment, in large part, is the responsibility of the 535 Americans who occupy the seats in Congress.
Editorials
TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Action, resolution needed on serious dilemmas
- Editorials
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EDITORIAL: Drug-testing bill lacks fairness and decency
The current session of the Indiana Legislature has produced plenty of initiatives that play well to the majority party’s base.
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EDITORIAL: Keep religion out of science class
An uncertain fate remains for an Indiana Senate bill that would, if it were to become law, allow public schools to teach creationism and other origin-of-life theories in their classes. But this fight may have already been grounded.
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EDITORIAL: Delivering on infrastructure
With national, state and local economies showing distinct signs of recovery from the Great Recession of 2008, it is good to hear Mayor Duke Bennett sounding optimistic about Terre Haute and its immediate future.
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EDITORIAL: Volunteer ‘army’ serving the needs of children
You know, of course, that casa means house. But do you also know that its all-capitals cousin, CASA, means home?
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EDITORIAL: Big dreams do come true
Consider this Super Bowl Sunday to be proof that anything is possible.
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EDITORIAL: Big ‘kick’ from a native son
Every player in Sunday’s Super Bowl is from somewhere. But not every player remembers where he’s from and reaches out to consistently help those back home. Not like Steve Weatherford. Make that not like Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford.
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EDITORIAL: Smoking ban good enough
When it comes to getting things done in the Indiana General Assembly, progress is often measured in baby steps. Indeed, it can take years to achieve even meager accomplishments.
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EDITORIAL: United Way’s strong reputation helps sustain community trust
It would be foolish in any community to take “positives” for granted, but it’s easy to understand how a casual observer would assume that United Way of the Wabash Valley will always come through with flying colors.
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EDITORIAL: Nothing sexy about human trafficking
When kickoff comes at the 2012 Super Bowl, expectations will be high for a fun, competitive, fanatical contest between the two survivors of the NFL’s regular season.
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EDITORIAL: The law’s good ‘Shepard’
Under the radar and against the backdrop of the fractious right-to-work battle going on in Indianapolis, one of state’s leading public servants delivered his valedictory in typical understated, even quiet, style two weeks ago. And before Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard slips away into retirement, his work needs to be acknowledged and praised.
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EDITORIAL: Cops at risk
Indiana lawmakers are playing with a loaded gun in a bill that passed the Indiana Senate Monday, 45-5.
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TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Helping your community, a few mouse clicks at a time
When you type WabashValleyGives.org into your web browser, hundreds of opportunities to help your local community will open on the screen before you.
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EDITORIAL: Raves around the town
To begin the week, we are raving about these recent pieces of local news:
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EDITORIAL: Let Hoosiers have a say on right-to-work bill
Indiana legislators, both Republican and Democrat, may claim to know the will of the people on right-to-work.
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EDITORIAL: Thin ice winter’s deadly scourge
Six-year-old Trevor Wayne Young of Nashville, Ind., and 50-year-old Allen D. Johnson of Galva, Ill., probably had little in common — except the way they died.
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EDITORIAL: Meeting needs at St. Ann's
The caliber of a community often is revealed by its efforts to help its least fortunate citizens.
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EDITORIAL: A sweet deal for Amazon.com
That loud lip-smack on the cheek you heard echoing from Indianapolis last week was the sound of Gov. Mitch Daniels kissing off on what amounts to another sweetheart deal between Indiana and Amazon.com, the online retailing giant.
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EDITORIAL: A new era for growth
The promised announcement of a major new industry for the former Pfizer property in southern Vigo County turned out to be well worth the wait.
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EDITORIAL: Transparency a worthy goal
Do taxpayers have the right to know specific details of contracts between elected school boards and superintendents they hire to run their operations?
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EDITORIAL: Shakir Bell’s success gives boost to Sycamore football
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
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EDITORIAL: Inspiration for the future
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
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EDITORIAL: Put teeth in public access laws
Indiana’s laws governing public access, as good as they are, lack something important — teeth. There are no significant consequences for agencies or employees who intentionally violate them.
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EDITORIAL: Time for teamwork in Sullivan
The beginning of a new mayoral term in any community is — or should be — a time when the talk of the town is rife with ideas, improvements and changes.
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EDITORIAL: Lawmakers should leave IHSAA, high school basketball alone
In an idyllic world, Indiana could restore its fabled single-class high school basketball state tournament, and thousands of fans would pour into gymnasiums from Angola to Corydon in hopes of witnessing another “Milan Miracle” year after year after year.
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EDITORIAL: ‘Anthem’ proposal way off key
Remember Faith Hill’s impassioned rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl in 2000?
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EDITORIAL: Back from the access brink
It took almost a week, but Gov. Daniels finally stepped up and did the right thing on Wednesday, rescinding new rules aimed at restricting the number of people allowed in the Statehouse during this session of the General Assembly.
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EDITORIAL: Poor decision by local Dems
By a little after 4 this afternoon, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett will have been sworn in for a second term and City Councilman-elect Robert All will have taken the oath of office for the first time.
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EDITORIAL: Be it resolved …
Resolutions for 2012 are top-of-mind today.
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EDITORIAL: Another slice of Classic history
Baseball is the so-called American pastime, but to Hoosiers and to our Illinois neighbors, it’s basketball that gets a community’s blood pumping. And no form of roundball does that any more intimately than high school basketball, whether boys or girls. College hoops is great, but nothing quite beats the packed, overheated confines of a high school gym when a tight game turns on every possession, every shot, every rebound, every pass, every defensive position. The sing-song of cheerleaders, the shrillness of a ref’s whistle, the squeak of gym shoes on hardwood, the shouted instructions from the benches, the aroma of popcorn — those form a Midwestern tableau unlike any other.
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EDITORIAL: A strategy for growth
There are many ways to market an area in order to spur economic growth. Some may work better than others, but there is no perfect approach. The essential thing is to have a strategy and to implement it.
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