Is Compromise Really a Dirty Word?

The increasingly frustrating debt crisis debate is like a bad movie that won’t end – like most Nicolas Cage films.  As such, the two protagonists – President Obama and Speaker Boehner – took to the primetime stage last night to convince the public that the other side is more to blame for the current impasse.  The contrasting style and substance of their respective performances could not have been more stark.  While President Obama stressed his continued willingness to compromise with Republicans, Speaker Boehner reiterated his preference for the somewhat sophomoric my-way-or-the-highway approach.  Although both men sufficiently placated their targeted audiences; neither, in my view, was worthy of an Oscar.  

Let’s start with Speaker Boehner with whom I was admittedly slightly distracted by his inability to look directly into the camera.  But that proved to be the least of his problems.  Mr. Boehner’s speech was combative, wholly disingenuous and riddled with inaccuracies.  He suggested that President Obama was the real problem for not accepting the House-passed bill which was written by House Republicans and has absolutely no chance of passing the Senate and is therefore rendered moot.  Furthermore, Speaker Boehner said on several occasions during his speech that the legislation passed in the House was a bipartisan bill.  Of the 193 House Democrats, exactly 5 voted for the bill.  In what alternate universe is that considered a bipartisan bill?

But beyond being generally disingenuous and inaccurate, I thought there were two charges in particular that were just plain dishonest.  First, Boehner claimed, “The president is adamant that we cannot make fundamental changes to our entitlement programs.”  Much to the chagrin of liberals and members of his own party — the president has already agreed to substantive cuts to entitlement programs.  That is not the sticking point — rather, it’s that the GOP is adamant that the burden of the deficit be borne exclusively by people who rely on such programs and not include any increases in revenue from the wealthy.  

In winning the prize for the second most misguided statement of the night, Boehner contended, “The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen.”  That statement doesn’t even make sense.  The debt limit doesn’t control or limit the ability of the federal government to run deficits or incur obligations.  On the contrary, it is a limit on the ability to pay obligations already incurred.  In other words, if we were not to raise the debt ceiling it would be more like refusing to pay your credit card bill (already spent money) than it is akin to asking for a blank check.

For his part, President Obama was typically analytical, professorial and systematic in his twenty minute address.  He accurately explained that the debt crisis has its origins in the poor decision by President Bush to cut taxes across the board while simultaneously engaging in two military misadventures.  I thought the president deftly invoked his predecessors – Reagan and Jefferson specifically – to highlight our nation’s history and tradition of compromise.  Mr. Obama articulately detailed the differences between the balanced Democratic approach – including steep spending cuts coupled with increased revenues – and the spending cuts-only approach of the Republicans.  It was at this point, however, when the president lost me.

President Obama has consistently advocated a deal in which there would be significant spending cuts but also increased revenues by returning the wealthiest Americans to pre-Bush tax rates and closing egregious tax loopholes for oil companies and corporate jet owners.  Ad nauseam, he has dubbed this solution as the “balanced” approach.  Unfortunately, as negotiations between he and Speaker Boehner have deteriorated, President Obama has endorsed a plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, in which no new revenues are raised.  In fact, there are no current plans being considered which call for anything other than spending cuts as a solution to the deficit problems.  So why did the president spend so much time contrasting his balanced approach to that of the Republicans if he now essentially supports a spending cuts-only solution?

In addition, the Reid plan is very similar in construct to a plan being offered by Speaker Boehner.  They both call for approximately $1.2 trillion dollars in immediate spending cuts with no new revenues through tax increases.  Although, predictably, Boehner and the House Republicans do not support the Reid plan now.  It’s as though every time Obama and the Democrats bend to essentially all Republican demands, Speaker Boehner moves the goal post once again.  And, so far, President Obama seems willing to continue to drive the ball in the Republican direction.  This begs the question:  Is President Obama giving up too much in his efforts to compromise with Republicans and avert defaulting on the nation’s debt?  Perhaps surprisingly, I still believe the answer is no.

I say this because I believe that if Obama is able to sign a bill that has passed both houses of Congress thereby averting a major economic crisis he – and his Democratic allies – will be handsomely rewarded by the American people.  The president will be perceived as part of the solution while the Republicans will be rightly viewed as much of the problem.  In essence, the president will take his medicine now and give up more than he would like in exchange for bigger, more permanent gains in the future.  It would be the ultimate Pyrrhic victory for the unsuspecting Republicans.  Quoting Thomas Jefferson in last night’s speech, Obama stated, “Every man cannot have his way in all things.  Without this mutual disposition, we are disjointed individuals, but not a society.”  Obama understands this well; and if he can find compromise and sign a bill, the Republicans will learn this lesson the hard way.  

In addition to Jefferson, the president also mentioned Ronald Reagan as a master of compromise.  Reagan, who served as president from 1981 -1989, is widely considered the patron saint of conservatives; ask a prominent conservative their hero, and odds are they’ll point to the Gipper.  Reagan is perhaps most often invoked by those who cast him as having held the line against tax increases.  Conservatives also hail Reagan as a budget cutter willing to make hard choices to keep spending in line.  And while Reagan somewhat slowed the marginal rate of growth in the budget, it did, in fact, continue to increase during his time in office.  So did the debt, skyrocketing from $700 billion to $3 trillion. Then there’s the fact that after first pushing to cut Social Security benefits – and being stymied by Congress – Reagan in 1983 agreed to a $165 billion bailout of the program. He also massively expanded the Pentagon budget and created the Department of Veterans Affairs, thus increasing the size of government which was antithetical to his political principles.

With respect to the debt ceiling issue, Ronald Reagan raised it 18 times during his presidency.  He often scolded Congress for playing politics with the nation’s credit rating.  Sound familiar?  More shocking, however, is the fact that Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his tenure.  Of course, Reagan took no pleasure in having to raise taxes or the debt ceiling, but he was also not afraid to do so if it were absolutely necessary.  In this way, Ronald Reagan was a very good leader.  But the Republicans shouldn’t be allowed to rewrite the history of his era. 

These facts have largely been lost on the contemporary Republican leadership even as they continue to enshrine Reagan at every turn.  But the reality remains that Reagan was a president who held firm to his principles of low taxes and small government but was also willing to work with his opposition when political and economic realities insisted.  I would ask the Republicans of today the same question Ronald Reagan asked back in 1982 (as quoted in Obama’s speech), “Would you rather reduce deficits and interest rates by raising revenue from those who are not now paying their fair share, or would you rather accept larger budget deficits, higher interest rates and higher unemployment? 

In his address, President Obama lamented the fact that compromise has become a “dirty” word in Washington these days.  Likewise, I imagine that Ronald Reagan and Thomas Jefferson would lament the same.  I’ve written before in this space of my belief that competent leadership requires compromise to solve big issues.  It’s been true throughout our history and will continue to be.  I’m proud that President Obama is still willing to compromise at this late, yet critical hour in the debate.  Don’t worry Democrats – anything lost now will pale in comparison to what can be gained by displaying real leadership, a willingness to compromise and, as a result, avert an economic crisis that will most certainly be felt around the world.