Republicans Emboldened

Two articles out this weekend on a theme we touched on in our last post, namely that as President Obama's stimulus has hit rocky shoals and floundered, congressional Republicans have become increasingly emboldened, growing even in gleeful as they move to in united opposition to the President's plan. While this is not welcome news to the new President or the Democratically-controlled Congress, in a way it is a positive for Democrats. It can be viewed this way because it makes clear, very early on in the new administration -- really, just weeks into this new presidency and new Congress -- that Obama should not count on great cooperation from congressional Republicans for many of his key initiatives. From that perspective, last week's problems should be a learning experience for the blue team.

Coming out the November elections, the second straight brutal cycle that saw the GOP lose both houses of Congress and the White House, Republicans were dispirited, to put it mildly. Facing a hugely-popular President and strengthened Democratic majorities in Congress, Republicans were at a crossroads with no real plan to go forward, at least outwardly. As the two articles make clear, the stimulus has provided GOPers with that missing purpose. Republicans' renewed purpose is simple: oppose the President everywhere, with steely resolve and jubilant opposition.

From the Examiner:

They took a beating in November, but now, in the stimulus fight, Republicans are smiling again.

You see it all over Capitol Hill, in the hallways, the hearing rooms, the gathering spots. Republicans, coming off a devastating, across-the-board electoral defeat, are … happy. Being in opposition, after eight years of a Republican presidency and 12 years of GOP rule in Congress, suits many of them just fine.

Similarly, from the Washington Post:

After giving the package zero votes in the House, and 0with their counterparts in the Senate likely to provide in a crucial procedural vote today only the handful of votes needed to avoid a filibuster, Republicans are relishing the opportunity to make a big statement. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) suggested last week that the party is learning from the disruptive tactics of the Taliban, and the GOP these days does have the bravado of an insurgent band that has pulled together after a big defeat to carry off a quick, if not particularly damaging, raid on the powers that be.

"We're so far ahead of where we thought we'd be at this time," said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), one of several younger congressmen seeking to lead the party's renewal. "It's not a sign that we're back to where we need to be, but it's a sign that we're beginning to find our voice. We're standing on our core principles, and the core principle that suffered the most in recent years was fiscal conservatism and economic liberty. That was the tallest pole in our tent, and we took an ax to it, but now we're building it back."

The second-ranking House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), put it more bluntly. "What transpired . . . and will give us a shot in the arm going forward is that we are standing up on principle and just saying no," he said.

Okay, let's be clear: a lot of these kinds of quotes from happy Republicans are garbage. Obviously, sitting in the minority, Republicans want to do their best to put on a smiley face and act like everything is going great in their caucuses. That's all well and good. But the fact is that the stimulus mess has allowed Republicans to at least gather up their bearings and unite together after a difficult election. At least right now, with Obama's most important legislation coming forward to Congress for its approval in the coming weeks and months.

Again, this should all be a wake-up call to Obama and his advisers. Republicans enjoy being an opposition party, and more, they are happy to be free of the burden of President Bush. As a result, the President should understand that while making small gestures to engender bipartisanship are great, he is going to have to get tough to get his measures into law or else other things will get bogged down like the stimulus, similarly weaking Obama and spending the precious political capital he worked so hard to amass.