State of the Union

Last Wednesday the Superbowl of the political world hit DC: State of the Union time! 

Streets were shut down, suspicious packages were discovered and disposed of, press teams phoned in orders for takeout food, and staffers got into heated debates about whether they should take shots when the Presidents says “hope” or “jobs”. 

I kid, I kid.

But really.

As the Senators and Members departed to the Floor to ride the seesaw of standing ovations, Frank, Christy, and I joined staffers from Senator Akaka’s office to watch the State of the Union address at a nearby progressive pub equipped with a massive TV. 

The President didn’t release the bomb of cap and trade, but he surprisingly did mention the necessity of comprehensive legislation addressing climate change mitigation, even throwing what might have been a personal jab at James Inhofe.  He did call out the Justices of the Supreme Court sitting twelve feet in front of him, eliciting cheers from the Union Pub crowd and a "That's not true” mumble from Justice Alito.  He talked about jobs, jobs, jobs, announced a freeze on discretionary spending, squeezed in a sentence or two about Afghanistan, and, in what has become the most quoted lines of his address, talked about politics-as-usual, which has remained as-usual as it has ever been one year into his Administration:

To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills.  And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town -- a supermajority -- then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well.  Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership.  We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. 

The Presidents words on the topic were timely.  Recently a someone called and posed a simple question that I couldn’t answer—the Democrats have a majority, why can’t they pass anything?

In my meager month on the Hill, I have determined that the million dollar term in the political scene post-Massachusetts special election is “budget reconciliation” - a little known process for passing legislation with a simple minority that has been brought to national attention as the potential savior of healthcare reform.  Coming in at a close second: “filibuster.”  Thanks to the latest stumbles in the saga of healthcare reform, both are must-know terms for Hill staffers.

“Filibuster” denotes the most effective weapon in the interparty warfare that plagues Congress.  It is the minority’s means of exercising power and revolting against the majority.  The minority calls it leverage; the majority calls it obstruction; a Dutchman from the 1800s would call it the work of pirates. 

The abuse of the filibuster is the most egregious symptom of a polarized politics that remains in trench warfare one year into the Obama era.  It is a polarization made audible daily by FOX News and MSNBC, and made visible during the SOTU address by the seemingly orchestrated standing ovations on one side of the aisle, and the deadpan stares on the other.  Perhaps the great barometer of President Obama’s term will be whether he can get the entire floor to stand and applaud in unison by the time he leaves office?

However the reception of future SOTU addresses goes, it should by now be unavoidably apparent that stalled politics produce public frustration and disillusionment, never more real and palpable than when constituents write in their stories or call and ask simple questions that are impossible to answer.   

It remains to be seen whether the symbolic goals of the SOTU address—to rally the Democratic base; to cast the filibustering Republicans as the real culprits; to awe the American people with sparkling oratory and remind disillusioned Independents why they voted the President in—were achieved.  Following the brief hypnosis that an Obama speech can bring, attention on the Hill again returned to healthcare, the public option, coal ash, and where are all the jobs again? 

And of course, what blog would be complete without an appearance by Rudy Giuliani...