COMMENTARY | The calls from the American people are getting louder for Congress and the President to ignore party lines and work together for the betterment of the country. Are the calls being heard or are they being muffled by debate? Some members of congress answered the call on Jan. 24 when they chose to sit outside their party comfort zone during the State of The Union Address. That move was apparent during moments of applause, when the audience appeared more unified instead of the usual party line distinction.
During his address, President Barack Obama said, “neither party has been blameless” when discussing the issues passing legislation. He continued that “now both parties should put an end to it.” The address optimistically called for the “need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction.” The President acknowledged the frustration the American people have in their voices in Washington, saying, “the greatest blow to our confidence in our economy last year didn’t come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not.”
President Obama’s request for cooperation is not standing alone. In the Republican response, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels offered, “As a loyal opposition, who put patriotism and national success ahead of party or ideology or any self-interest, we say that anyone who will join us in the cause of growth and solvency is our ally, and our friend. We will speak the language of unity.” Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., had his own response to the address by saying, “I strongly urge the President and Congress to come to the table, actually listen to one another and work in a bipartisan way”.
The citizens group No Labels, who lobbied for the non-partisan seating at the State of The Union Address, state on their website “the parties have organized themselves into warring clans that value defeating the other side over even the most basic acts of governing.” They continue by offering, “Increasingly it’s not the quality of a leader’s ideas that matter, but the label — Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative — that he or she wears”. No Labels, whose catch phrase is “Not Left. Not Right. Forward.” has a platform of twelve steps to “Make Congress Work.”
Whether the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch of government can show enough bipartisanship to effectively govern in an election year is truly the question. The only people that can answer that are our voices in Washington. As Ron Shaich, founder of Panera Bread stated in an interview with Fox News on Jan. 24, “As a business person we’re accountable. We have to come to an agreement.” The same should hold true for our leaders in government. I believe the time has come when we must stop allowing our divides to stifle our productivity. Instead of Democrat or Republican, we must chart our course as Americans.