Chess and Checkers

I used to play chess with my older brother when I was a kid. I finally gave up because he was much, much better at thinking five or 10 moves ahead. I was pretty much limited to two or three moves ahead. In my own defense, I was young – 10 or 11 when he first taught me to play – and my brother is four years older than I. But I much preferred to play Checkers, a game that doesn’t require you to see very far ahead. My inability to look at the options on the Chess board ensured that I always lost; in many ways it meant I was never even in the game.

I’m getting that same sense as I watch President Obama play rope-a-dope with the Republicans in Congress. The current issue at hand is the stimulus bill the president wants Congress to approve in the next three weeks. Since they are in the minority in both houses of congress now, Republicans are left with one tool at their disposal to have any influence at all in the political process: the ability to filibuster and prevent a cloture vote in the Senate. As Democrats know from past experience, it’s a small tool at that.

The difference this year as in the previous eight, 12 or several dozen years is that President Obama says he wants bi-partisan support for the bill. He has asked for input from Republicans in order to get their support. They could suggest a few compromises and show that they want to work for the good of our country, to help restore our tattered and broken economy. But to do so would mean to tacitly accept that their ideology is failed. So instead, Republicans have come back to the president and told him the only way they would accept the stimulus package is if it is a Republican plan. In other words, no compromise – just do things our way.

At first this seemed completely strange to me. How could any politician think they could have influence in this circumstance against a president who is enjoying over-the-top approval ratings and after being completely routed in the last general election? It didn’t make any sense. Then I realized that the only upside for Republicans as a party is if the plan fails. If they backed a failed plan, then they cannot claim the high road; but if they stood in vehement opposition to a failed plan, well, they were the visionaries who saw the disaster that lay ahead. It’s in their best interest to cling to partisanship. It doesn’t matter that our country is going to hell in a hand basket economically, if they can find an upside politically, they’ll use it.

This is not to say the Republican Party is any worse than the Democratic Party when it comes to partisanship. I’m sure Democrats would be doing something similar if the shoe were on the other foot. I just had a hope that we could put it all away, at least for a week or two, in the best interest of our country. Sadly this isn’t the case.

Certainly President Obama is aware of this. He went to Capital Hill today and did something highly unusual for a new president: he met with the entire House Republican Caucus and asked them to come to the table. It was a pretty gutsy move and it remains to be seen whether any in the minority party will cross the aisle when it’s time for the final vote. Unfortunately they seem to be playing from the Karl Rove playbook and trying to win today’s news cycle instead of looking at the big picture.

Republicans might try to present a better plan ideologically. A few have said that we need more tax breaks for large corporations. Sure, it’s more of the same George W. Bush policies that embroiled us in our current mess, but at least that’s consistent. But to be honest, there’s no upside for Republicans to present an alternative either.

If I were a Republican congressman or senator, I’d look beyond today – or even next week or next month. I’d be careful to avoid any appearance of partisanship, if at all possible. Because when it’s all said and done, the American people won’t blame the president if there is a successful filibuster in the Senate and the stimulus bill doesn’t move forward. The people will blame the obstructionists. Right now, anything that stands in the way of getting our economy back on track is considered obstructionist.

President Obama is playing chess and Republicans are playing checkers.