The 114th Congress could demonstrate that bipartisanship is possible by building on Democratic support for legislation ranging from repairing some of the damage caused by Obamacare to providing greater access to charter schools, writes Karl Rove in
The Wall Street Journal.
The veteran Republican strategist argues that while some may ridicule the notion that the new Republican-controlled Congress can work in a bipartisan manner, many of the bills passed by the outgoing GOP-led House had Democratic support.
The measures never became law because of the maneuverings of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.
While acknowledging that the populist wings of both parties were fuming about passage of the unwieldy omnibus budget bill, Rove writes that now that spending is mostly set well into next year, the decks are cleared for Congress to return to regular order.
Both House Speaker John Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are committed to operating Congress "in regular order – that is, to have legislation travel the long, often complicated, and deliberative path through which the Constitution intended," Rove said.
He points out that in the 113th Congress, the House passed numerous bills with varying degrees of Democratic support. They included bills to expand access to charter schools, limit junk lawsuits over patents, expand energy exports and block taxes on the Internet.
The incoming Congress will tackle assorted measures that present opportunities for bipartisanship, from the Keystone XL pipeline and corporate tax reform to tweaking Obamacare — especially how the Affordable Care Act defines full-time work.
Both parties, Rove said, want to get Capitol Hill on track.
"Democrats have also grown weary of being treated as bystanders by the Obama administration. So if Republicans play their cards right, the next two years could see conservative solutions pass with large bipartisan majorities.
"This would constitute hope and change not because of Mr. Obama, but despite him," Rove concludes.
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