Obama bucks fellow Democrats: A sign of things to come? (+video)
Washington Liberal Democrats are seething about the big budget deal passed by the House late Thursday with bipartisan support and President Obamas blessing. Both the content of the bill and the process by which it was crafted are unacceptable, they say.
But thats the reality of governing when you dont hold all the cards, Mr. Obama says. You get something, and you give something.
"This, by definition, was a compromise bill, Obama told reporters Friday.
Later, he added: I think what the American people very much are looking for is some practical governance and the willingness to compromise, and that's what this really reflects.
Translation: The American people dont want another government shutdown.
So is this the Obama version of triangulation, the political technique employed by the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, after his party lost control of Congress in 1994? Simply told, triangulation involves bucking ones own party and moving to the center in the hopes of peeling off moderates from the opposing party to pass legislation. Welfare reform was President Clintons best example.
Earlier this week, in the $1.1 trillion budget deal crafted by House Republicans and Senate Democrats, two provisions in particular infuriated liberal Democrats: a loosening of regulations on financial institutions and a big increase in limits on contributions to political parties.
As House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D) of California was voicing her strong opposition to the bill on the House floor Thursday, the White House issued a statement in support of the legislation. It was a rare moment of disunity between the president and a key ally on Capitol Hill.
Behind the scenes, Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and other White House officials lobbied House Democrats to support the bill. But the Pelosi-Obama rift wasnt total. Representative Pelosi didnt whip against the bill i.e., she didnt twist arms to get members of her caucus to vote against it. A majority of Democrats voted against the bill, but enough went along to allow its passage.
That, Pelosi said Friday in a letter to Democrats, strengthened the party come January, when the next Congress is seated.
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Obama bucks fellow Democrats: A sign of things to come? (+video)