Compromise In Congress?

News from the halls of the U.S. Capitol lately is that Republican lawmakers have abandoned their resistance to extending both the reduction/suspension of the payroll tax and unemployment benefits. 

The looks like, and in the long run probably is, a positive step.  Not only is it something that we need to do in fairness to those hit hardest by the continuing recession, but politically speaking, any bipartisan measure passed by the Congress deserves a round of applause, simply because it so rarely occurs.

Unlike the media, I am not especially surprised by the news that the GOP is caving on this matter.  It's taken them far longer than anyone might have expected to realize that their constant snubbing of the most minimal relief for the jobless and poor could take a serious toll on their electoral appeal, especially in several industrial states that they desperately need to win.   Whether their shift on this is soon enough to make a difference remains to be seen.

An observer might wonder how the tantrum-throwing extremist right of the party has been persuaded to go along.  I think the answer is that Republican agreement on this measure  is a two-edged sword that may slash away at the underpinnings of other political arrangements and understandings that the far right hates more:

• Continuing the reduction of the payroll tax unequivocally robs social security; it becomes that much easier to argue, a year from now, that the only solution to social security is to abandon it, or "privatize" it.
• If the deficit is in fact to be made up by assessing federal employees an additional 1.5% for their retirement benefits, this too gives the GOP a leg up in its war on the federal workforce.   

The devil is in the election results.  If the Republican Party can maintain or even increase its predominance in Congress after this November's election, they will have come out ahead in three ways.  My assessment, based on polls, common sense, and the continuing signs of an improving economy, is that it won't work out that neatly for them.  

Comments

[Gabbygeezer]

Yes, the election probably will preclude neat packages. Here in Michigan we are being bombarded with TV ads and political commentary prior to the Republican primary at the end of the month. Romney is claiming "favorite son" status, but he is facing severe counter attacks from those who know the auto industry bailout saved the state's economy. Romney said too many times that the bailout was improper. His present chief opponent, Santorum, goes further. He claims the auto bailout was an illegal act. It will be interesting to see what happens, including how many Democrats claim Republican status in the primary to vote against Romney.

[JHawk23]

Thanks for that insight. We're hearing a lot here in DC/Virginia about Romney's troubles in his "home" state.

In Virginia we would normally expect a heavy onslaught of ads before our Republican primary on March 6 but it may not occur this time, as only Romney and Paul succeeded in fulfilling the requirements to be on the ballot.