One of George W. Bush's many campaign pledges was a promise to work with Democrats and Republicans alike to encourage bipartisanship in Congress. This would require, of course, willingness on Mr. Bush's part to make concessions and take a relatively restrained approach in dealings with Congress. It seems, however, that rather than being the "uniter" as he has labeled himself, Mr. Bush has altogether ignored the necessary components of bipartisanship, namely compromise and moderation. This has left congressional Republicans with the tough job of working with Democrats all by themselves, without the executive prodding they usually encounter. Fortunately, it seems that some congressional Republicans are choosing to be cooperative, as several have shown the sense of bipartisanship and willingness to compromise that Mr. Bush hasn't.
Two Republican senators in particular, Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have shown tremendous initiative by trying to compromise and work with Democrats to pass sensible and important legislation. Sen. Jeffords has taken up the issue of the huge tax cut proposed by Mr. Bush. Under Mr. Bush's current 1.6 trillion dollar plan, the top one percent of taxpayers, who pay roughly 21 percent of all federal taxes, would receive 43 percent of the money from the tax cut. The tax cut itself, which Mr. Bush has promised would help the slowing economy, may not even solve the current financial deceleration. And with the budget surplus looking less and less secure, a large tax cut could prove to be devastating in the long run.
Democrats and Republican moderates have pointed these facts out, but such warnings have largely been ignored. Sen. Jeffords has noted that "I think it's not oriented as well as it could be for those who need it and I think it's a little bit too big." Several other Republicans have agreed with Sen. Jeffords, and have likewise called for a toning down of the cuts. Meanwhile, Democrats have labeled the tax cuts as essentially providing "a Lexus for every millionaire," and a muffler for everyone else. Even with these sharp attacks on the plan from Democrats and the less direct but equally important criticisms by moderate Republicans, Mr. Bush has not shown any signs of willingness to compromise.
Mr. Bush and other Republican leaders have also disregarded other suggestions by moderates in Congress, such as creating a "trigger" that would stop a tax cut if surpluses did not meet expectations. Even some non-moderate Republicans have endorsed this idea. Mr. Bush, however, is determined to do the "real Republican thing" and push for the unaltered form of the huge tax cuts anyway. The fact that Mr. Bush incessantly trumpeted his bipartisan efforts in Texas yet now lacks any bipartisanship spirit whatsoever is not a good sign.
Another area in which Mr. Bush has taken a hard-line stance rather than one of moderation is the patients' bill of rights. Having promised to bring Democrats and Republicans together in support of such a bill, Mr. Bush is now backing away from a reasonable patients' rights bill sponsored by Sen. McCain. The bill, if passed, would allow people to settle disputes with health insurance providers more easily. Mr. Bush has found several faults with the bill, and therefore has yet to back it. This comes at a very inopportune time as right now the bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans. Rather than quibbling over parts of the bill, Mr. Bush should recognize that the bipartisanship currently present in Congress should be used to its full advantage, lest it disappear due to his own inability to compromise.
Having barely won the election, if at all, Mr. Bush needs to abandon his cling to the childhood mentality of having to get what one wants. He needs to compromise and take advantage of the fact that both parties have found some common ground regarding both the tax cuts and the patients' bill of rights. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush is squandering this opportunity, opting to take an extreme stance on the issues of tax cuts and patient rights. By taking this path, Mr. Bush is not the "uniter" as he has promised he would be; rather, he is the one separating the parties from reaching a middle ground of agreement that would allow for the passage of a sensible tax cut and a patients' bill of rights.
