Feels Like The First Time

The 112th Congress convenes today, and much has been made about the partisanship in Washington. You don't have to look much farther than the incoming and outgoing Speakers of the House to prove the point. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from San Fransisco, has been a champion of liberal causes and a strong ally of President Obama. Incoming Speaker John Boehner is from Ohio. He grew up working in the family business, and was a member of the First Republican Revolution in 1994. Both are viewed with suspicion, if not outright hatred, by the rank-and-file of the opposition parties.
The newly elected speaker, however, has seen his party's numbers grow by 62, and the Tea Party wave that earned him his seat expects big results. The House has already scheduled a vote to repeal Obamacare. The bill is expected to pass in the House, but is D.O.A. in the Senate, where Democrates still maintain control. Of course, the bill would never be signed by the President, so the vote is little more than symbolism. Where Republicans are more likely to make gains, it involves attacking certain provision within the healthcare law, such as the individual mandate. Some Democrates, including the White House, have been making signals that they are open to such ideas.
Republicans won by crying foul over Democrates spending, and they will be cutting everywhere they see fit. This will truly be the test of Boehner political skill. Previous Republican majorities have promised to cut spending before, but when they were given control of the purse strings, they spent money on pet projects and cut taxes, leading to the biggest deficits in history. In spring, Congress will have to pass a bill to raise the ceiling on the national debt. If they do not, the United States will default on our financial obligations and potentially ruin our credit and our economy. However, Tea Party activist will not tolerate more debt. Can Boehner corral his party and do what is right by the American economy, or will ideology trump practicality?
In the past, politicians from both parties have come to Washington promising big change, and instead, Washington changed them. That's an old line, but with a lot of truth. Although often times that change is for the worse, it doesn't have to be so. Circumstances change and the art of the possible becomes more important. Bill Clinton had big ideas about government working for the people, but when Congress went to the Republicans he fought to improve government programs rather than expand them. The Republicans now in control of the House have ideas about how government can "get out of the way," but they will find many constituents who want government to have a role in their lives. Staying true to their ideology while making government work efficiently for everyday Americans will be their biggest challenge.