Archives
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Bipartisan Beat Blog
Latest Blog Entry
Aug. 19, 2010
Bipartisanship, Civility and the state of the Senate on Charlie Rose
Watch Charlie Rose's interview with George Packer, Bill Cohen and Al Hunt on last night's episode here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
NYT: The Mirthless Senate
Comedy and Comity in the Senate. Read the full article here.
NYT: Waiting in the Wings to Be Chief G.O.P. Dealmaker
Is Congressman Paul Ryan key to bipartisan cooperation on a budget overhaul?
Read the full article here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
Washington Post: Chris Dodd, the Senate's happy warrior
"The happiness quotient in the Senate will definitely drop when Dodd leaves, and that really is depressing."
Read the full article by E.J. Dionne here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
BPC's Matt Dallek in US News & World Report: Not Another Summer of Tea Party Anger
"Such prevailing wisdom--though it contains a lot of truth--is also one-sided and uncomplicated. Consider, for example, some countervailing moments in the past 48 hours that defy the traps of our summertime conventional thinking. There are, indeed, instances of ideological line-crossing and cooperation among otherwise ardent political foes."
Read the full article here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
Civility without sacrificing our beliefs
"I don't buy today's lazy analysis that our political parties are irretrievably commanded by their bases with no one willing to compromise. Republicans supported Obama's troop increase for Afghanistan, and I sense growing numbers of Democrats who might join Republican calls for restraining spending.
Meanwhile, no one should want our political parties to water down their messages in an empty quest for phony 'common ground.' Let the left and right bring their best arguments to each battle, offer them with passion, win with grace and lose with poise."
Posted in Bipartisanship
Upholding a 'constitutional standard,' not a political one
Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voiced his support for President Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. In doing so, Graham signaled his disdain for blind opposition toward an opposing party's judicial selections. He wondered aloud if political considerations had come to replace reasonable assessments of a candidate's qualifications and character:
Posted in Bipartisanship
Class of 2010: Hope for more bipartisanship in the Senate
Alexander Bolton of The Hill reports that Republican centrists in the Senate are looking to expand their ranks as a result of the November elections:
"Congressional experts and lawmakers say a strong class of centrists could blunt the influence of conservative freshmen sent to Washington by Tea Party voters. Senate Republican centrists have become a rare breed; Democrats find themselves repeatedly turning to the same small group of Republicans to help them pass bills."
Posted in Bipartisanship
Cyber alert: computer security specialists in short supply
National Public Radio (NPR) details the troubling shortage of cybersecurity specialists and engineers:
Posted in National Security Preparedness Group
Fiscal commission looks to Britain
"Members of the White House fiscal commission are looking across the Atlantic for a formula to curtail the nation’s deficits. Erskine Bowles, the commission’s Democratic co-chairman, has repeatedly praised the fiscal austerity plan of the new Conservative-led government in Britain.
'I’d like to see us do something the Brits just did, taking 75 percent out of spending and 25 percent out of revenue' to reduce the deficit, Bowles said Wednesday at an economic forum held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."
Posted in Debt Initiative
Sen. Bingaman offers a practical approach to policymaking
"Jeff Bingaman may not garner the headlines of some of his flashier Senate colleagues, but the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee has his own way of getting things done... Many observers say Bingaman's willingness to compromise and work across the aisle makes him an obvious candidate to help Senate legislation across the finish line."
Read the full article here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
A bipartisan clean coal proposal
"Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) are pushing a plan to quicken the commercial availability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology — vital if the coal industry is to survive under a carbon-restricted economy."
Read the full article here.
Posted in Bipartisanship
The BPC's Matthew Dallek and Cameron Lynch write of the possibility of a new crop of Senate moderates
Is a "healthy infusion of moderate blood" on the Senate's horizon?
"Senator Scott Brown just announced that he is backing financial reform legislation. Now the bill's supporters are just a single vote shy of having 60 votes in favor, enough to clear procedural hurdles and send the highly-anticipated legislation to President Obama’s desk.
Posted in Bipartisanship
Finding common ground on immigration
Ahead of the fall midterm elections, President Obama is pushing for sweeping changes of immigration laws. He wants help from Republicans:
"Despite cynicism on both sides of the aisle that a broad overhaul of U.S. immigration laws will not happen this year, President Barack Obama continues to push for a bipartisan way forward on the issue, senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday.
Posted in Bipartisanship
Leaders need to check their partisanship for the good of the nation
Former Rep. E. Clay Shaw warns of the growing threat of partisan politics:
"In recent years we have seen very little bipartisanship as the parties have drifted further apart to the left and the right. Across the aisle, friendships are rare as the members work less in Washington (the three day work week is the norm) as they now spend more time campaigning than working for us. Spouses are now encouraged to stay home and campaign rather that live with the member in DC. Friendships between families across party lines are all too rare.
Posted in Bipartisanship
