A take on Bob Corker and Lindsay Graham

There has been a unified chorus of discontent with the ongoing negotiations between Chris Dodd and Bob Corker on the financial regulation bill; and between Lindsay Graham, Joe Lieberman and John Kerry on climate change. The left has characterized both respective battles as a waste of energy on a process that substantially weakens important legislation while the right has accused the two senators of being RINOs (Republicans in Name Only). These adverse reactions to bipartisanship on both sides of the political spectrum only reinforce the polarized times we live in. I think both of these assertions miss their mark, especially in a bipartisan institution such as the senate.

The senate is known to be where bipartisan deals are struck, as the minority wields the power to obstruct, which is absent in the house. This is not to say that the power to obstruct hasn't been overwhelmingly abused recently, but it does have a purpose. This is where the art of compromise has been forgotten. The conservative GOP primary electorate is so bent on opposing Obama's agenda that politicians have no ability to negotiate on important issues. Legislators have forgotten that compromise means "a settlement of differences by mutual concessions." Lindsay Graham and Bob Corker (and to a lesser extent Olympia Snowe) therefore are possiby the last republican negotiators in the senate. They just happen to be very conservative senators, and their concessions must be correspondingly deep. If the GOP's more liberal senators (Judd Gregg, Olympia Snowe, Scott Brown and Susan Collins) negotiated in good faith on these issues, their concessions would not gain the ire of liberals in the same way.

Sadly, this is how partisan congress has become. We can only hope that more senators will follow these two in fulfilling the senate's role in government.

Democratic hypocrisy in Arkansas?

I've been following the upcoming democratic primary in Arkansas between incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln and Bill Halter with curiosity. Blanche Lincoln is one of the senate's leading centrists and drew the ire of liberals when she refused to throw her support behind a healthcare reform bill that contained a public option, even she had previously campaigned in support of the measure. She further complicated her relationship with the democratic base by refusing to sign onto comprehensive climate change legislation. This led Bill Halter, the lieutenant governor of Arkansas, to challenge her in the primary from her left flank. Bill Halter has been hailed by the liberal blogosphere as a "true democrat" and they have thrown their support behind his campaign.

For the last few months, democratic strategists have mocked the self destructive Republican focus on ideological purity, citing the party switch of Arlen Specter and the electoral defeat of Dede Scozzafava as prime examples that this type of party building does not work. The GOP has been so focused on ideological purity of late that the ultra-conservative Club for Growth exists simply to run primary candidates against moderates even at the cost of the general election. Many have attributed this strategy of ideological purity to the catastrophic GOP losses in the last two election cycles.

So this brings us to my question; is it hypocritical of the democrats to conspire against Blanche Lincoln? I am not inclined to think it is for several reasons. First, Blanche Lincoln's favorability ratings in Arkansas have hovered around 20% for over a year now. No incumbent this unpopular has ever been reelected. Bill Halter would arguably improve the democrats' position in this race, rather than detract from it. Second, Blanche Lincoln is a complete sellout. It is one thing to be a moderate politician and vote with your conscience. It is another all together to change your stances on key issues after receiving campaign contributions from Aetna. This is why you'll never hear about anybody trying to primary Ben Nelson (D-NE). He is a conservative, so he votes conservatively. No contradiction there.

First Post

Welcome to the Political Cartographer. My name is Will Bedford-Sutro and I'm currently an undergraduate student at the University of Vermont. This blog was an idea of mine I stumbled upon while doing laps at our university swimming pool, a way for me to publish some of the ideas and opinions that have been flying around my head about our current political discourse. I consider myself to be a liberal in the American spectrum, and a moderate anywhere else in the world. I hope to discuss some of the pressing political events that are going on from election news to major legislation being considered. Feel free to discuss my posts and contribute your opinion. Thanks for reading!