Despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s promise for “the most honest,
ethical, and open Congress in history,” the Democratic Leadership
has decided that for at least the first few weeks, all bills will
be closed to discussion. The Democrats have decided to restrict
Republican participation, cancel public debate, and forego the
usual committee hearings.
Consequently, a great deal of whining and righteous indignation
is emanating from the Republican side of the aisle as the new
Congress gets underway.
Come on, guys, get over it. Stop acting like a bunch of babies
and just accept the fact that you brought it on yourselves because
of the way you treated Democrats for more than a decade. These are
the same Democrats, by the way, who brought it on themselves for
treating you in much the same manner during the previous four
decades when they controlled Congress.
Here is some unsolicited advice to Republicans for the
Democrats’ first 100 hours in power, during which they are
attempting to ram through the House the legislative agenda they ran
on last November. First, Republicans should accept the fact that
Democrats have the votes in the House to pass this agenda and that
they are entitled to do so. Democrats can legitimately claim a
mandate from the electorate to advance their platform, regardless
of how ill-conceived it may be.
Second, it is the Republicans’ job as the minority to resist bad
policy from a majority flush with the hubris of gaining control of
Congress for the first time in more than a decade. So, rather than
playing political games and casting what may seem like a “free”
vote to curry favor, Republicans should vote against the Democratic
agenda if they aren’t granted an opportunity to improve it.
Third, for those Democratic proposals that are really pernicious
— like the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of
2007 — Republicans must have the mettle to use the filibuster in
the Senate, if necessary, as the Democrats did so often during the
era of Republican control.
Fourth — and this is advice to you, Mr. President — use the
presidential veto, and use it strategically. The veto threat is the
fastest way to bring Democrats to the bargaining table and to
foster real bipartisan policymaking.
THE FIRST TEST OF WHETHER THE REPUBLICANS are up to the challenge
of working together as an effective minority will come this Friday
when the Democrats put the Price Negotiation bill on the floor. It
will pass the House. The only question is whether the President
will inform the nation ahead of time that he intends to veto the
House bill if it appears on his desk. The President must step up on
behalf of Republicans and make his intention to veto the bill
known. If he doesn’t, it will send an unambiguous signal to
Congress that he is willing to sign the House bill.
The Democratic strategy is to water down so-called “price
negotiations” in the House sufficiently so that a significant
number of Republicans vote for the legislation. Once the bill goes
over to the Senate, the Democrats will stage a drama in which they
try to put real teeth into the measure. This tactic is designed to
give the Conference Committee something to throw into the garbage
can, granting the President a face-saving “victory,” and allowing
him to sign the House version of the bill by claiming that it’s
toothless and symbolic.
This bill, therefore, is a critical test of the Republicans’
capacity to act as an effective minority, protecting the country
from ill-conceived schemes rammed through the House by the new
majority.
If the President doesn’t issue an immediate promise to veto the
House bill, he will send an unambiguous signal to the Congress that
he is willing to sign the measure. Presidential inaction at this
point of the proceedings will set in motion a slow-motion collapse
of Republican defenses and release a significant number of House
Republicans to vote for the watered-down House bill. This will set
the stage for a heroic victory in the Senate or in the Conference
Committee, leading to a signature on what both sides will describe
as a “compromise.”
But enacting the House bill into law would have implications
that are far from toothless and symbolic. It would be like
smuggling an unloaded gun into a prison. Don’t think for a minute
that the bureaucrats at Medicare won’t be able to find all the
regulatory bullets they need to load the clip and turn that
unloaded gun into a lethal weapon. Should Medicare bureaucrats gain
possession of this regulatory weapon, senior citizens can look
forward to government bureaucrats, ignorant of their medical needs,
holding their prescription drug coverage hostage.
Now is the time for the President to make his intentions clear
by promising a veto. Silence on the House bill is not an
option.
Otherwise, puppet-masters Reid and Pelosi will stage their
well-orchestrated drama in the Senate and the Conference Committee,
tricking the President into thinking he’s fending off an assault to
put real teeth in the bill, with his signature on the House bill as
a grand compromise.
President Bush should warn of this Trojan Horse by breaking his
silence. Mr. President, we’re waiting.
