DIVIDED GOVERNMENTPOLS 125

Obama, GOP Grapple with Divided Government1:15PM EST November 7. 2012 - All that time, all that money, all that campaigning — and the status quo reigns in Washington.

Democratic president ...

Republican House ...

Democratic Senate.

President Obama and Republican leaders made the right comments about working together as Tuesday's election results rolled in, but divisions remain as they try to address such difficult issues as reducing the federal debt, heading off potential budget cuts, and other matters related to the so-called fiscal cliff.

America Votes Again For Divided Government It WantsThe Washington we deserve, if not the one we need

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans, for all their griping, apparently really do prefer their government deeply divided and dysfunctional.

President Barack Obama will remain in office for another four years, Democrats will continue to control the Senate by roughly the same small margin while Republicans maintained their grip on the House.

And the same difficult problems that faced the country Tuesday afternoon — the automatic cuts known as the sequester, expiration of the Bush tax cuts, a looming debt ceiling increase — will still be there when they wake up Wednesday morning, no closer to resolution.

"What comes around, usually goes around. Since the new Congress is basically the same as the last one, then you are likely to have the same gridlock,” veteran GOP operative Ron Bonjean acknowledged Tuesday night.“The country is unmistakably divided," one senior Senate GOP leadership aide said. "It's like a self perpetuating problem."

Divided Government, 1901-2015

Divided Government

• Causes?• Consequences?

Causes of Divided GovernmentExplanations that Focus on Politicians

• INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE – Is there a structural predisposition for divided government?

• LEGISLATIVE PROFESSIONALISM – Are high quality Republican candidates less likely to seek office (e.g., more lucrative careers elsewhere, ideology that is unwilling to use the power of government)

• GERRYMANDERING – Have parties successfully rigged the rules of the game?

Causes of Divided GovernmentExplanations that Focus on Voters

• PARTY DECLINE - Is divided government the unintentional result of candidate centered campaigns? Have voters moved beyond party labels?

• PARTY BALANCE – Do voters split their tickets in a strategic fashion in order to consciously produce divided government, and thereby moderate results?

• INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHS – Do voters split their tickets in pursuit of contradictory policy goals (e.g., Democratic House, Republican president)?

Is the recent decline in ticket splitting a response to elite polarization along

partisan lines?

Public Attitudes Towards Divided Government

Democrats' preference for unified government rose significantly this year .

Does Divided Government Really Amount to Dysfunctional Politics?

• Does divided government harm legislative productivity (e.g., by creating gridlock)?

• Does it make it harder to impose collective responsibility on lawmakers?

• Does it create cynicism among voters?

Barack Obama’s Victory Speech, 2008“Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state [Illinois] who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House—a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.”

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies, but friends… Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.’ And, to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) did not mince words on Saturday, labeling President Barack Obama as the most “divisive figures in modern American history.”

Bipartisanship = GoodAs Chait says: “bipartisanship serves as a proxy for other qualities—moderation, civility, and compromise—widely associated with public virtue.”

Hyperpartisanship = Bad

As Brownstein says: “Today American is deeply divided and closely divided. The ideological differences between the parties are as great as at any time in the past century. But the country is split almost exactly in half between the two sides. Deeply and closely divided is an unprecedented and explosive combination.”

Assumptions about Bipartisanship

• “A close election represents a conscious endorsement of bipartisanship… The implication is that voters cluster in the political center and, when forced to select between two equally noxious extremes, split in two in order to prevent either party from gaining a mandate.”

• When candidates receive “a roughly equal number of votes,” it means “the public supported their platforms equally.”

• Bipartisanship equals “progress,” which is inherently better than “gridlock.”

Chait says bipartisanship is not inherently good OR bad. “[T]he presence or absence of cooperation between parties tells us nothing about whether government is acting in the public interest. Bipartisanship is a political act, not a moral principle.”

1No Budget, No PayIf Congress can't pass a budget and all annual spending bills on time, members of Congress should not get paid.

2Up or Down Vote on Presidential AppointmentsAll presidential nominations should be confirmed or rejected within 90 days of the nomination.

3Fix the FilibusterRequire real (not virtual) filibusters and end filibusters on motions to proceed.

4Empower the Sensible MajorityAllow a bipartisan majority of members to override a leader or committee chair’s refusal to bring a bill to the floor.

5Make Members Come to WorkMake Congress work on coordinated schedules with three five-day work weeks a month in DC and one week in their home district.

6Question Time for the PresidentProvide a monthly forum for members of Congress to ask the president questions to force leaders to debate one another and defend their ideas.

12 Ways to Make Congress WORK!

7Fiscal Report to Congress: Hear it. Read it. Sign it.A nonpartisan leader should deliver an annual, televised fiscal update in-person to a joint session of Congress to ensure everyone is working off the same facts.

8No Pledge but the Oath of OfficeMembers should make no pledge but the pledge of allegiance and their formal oath of office.

9Monthly Bipartisan GatheringsThe House and Senate should institute monthly, off-the-record and bipartisan gatherings to get members talking across party lines.

10Bipartisan SeatingAt all joint meetings or sessions of Congress, each member should be seated next to at least one member of the other party.

11Bipartisan Leadership CommitteeCongressional party leaders should form a bipartisan congressional leadership committee to discuss legislative agendas and substantive solutions.

12No Negative Campaigns Against IncumbentsIncumbents from one party should not conduct negative campaigns against sitting members of the opposing party.

Source: http://www.nolabels.org/