100 Days--Foundation for Change
Americans should be proud of what has been accomplished so far, but that pride should be tempered by the reality that this is only the beginning and that major challenges lie ahead. But even in these challenging times, Americans continue to have faith in President Obama and his policies.
Watch the New Democratic National Committee video "Foundation for Change."
According to a recent AP poll, for the first time in more than five years there are more Americans who believe the country is headed in the right direction than those who believe we are off on the wrong track. This extraordinary improvement in how people feel about the direction of the country shows that Americans are hopeful and optimistic about the direction President Obama is leading the country and his handling of the economy. [Associated Press, 4/23/09].
While the 100 days mark is arbitrary, it does represent a point of reflection. In less than four full months in office the President has signed legislation which gives four million more children access to health care, makes it illegal for men and women to be paid differently for the same job, and breathes new life into our economy through a recovery plan that makes critical investments in our infrastructure and creates or saves more than three million jobs.
President Obama has lifted restrictions on stem cell research, enacted sweeping reforms that limit lobbyist influence and increase government transparency, created a housing plan to stem the foreclosure crisis, initiated a bold plan to revive the ailing U.S. auto industry, and taken a series of steps to get credit flowing again to American consumers and businesses. Additionally, the President has taken steps to change our nation's approach to foreign policy by banning torture, ordering the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, setting a date to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, and working with our allies in the international community to combat terrorism and address the global financial crisis. His trip overseas showed the power of an American President leading strongly but in a spirit of partnership and cooperation.
The list is impressive. The scale of what the President has accomplished and the speed with which he has done so has been truly remarkable. However, these accomplishments represent just the foundation for the change on which we must build by making health care accessible and affordable for every American, investing in renewable energy to create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and educating our children for the economic challenges and opportunities of the 21st century global economy.
The GOP: 100 Days of "NO"
While we feel the story of what the President and his administration have accomplished will be told in the coming days, what may not be as closely examined as it should is the course the Republican Party has chosen to take over that same period of time which can simply be characterized as 100 Days of "No."
While Americans have been buoyed by President Obama's bold action to get the country back on track, they have been turned off by the rank partisanship of the Republican Party's strategy of simply saying NO to President Obama's plans. Not only has the GOP said No to virtually everything the President has proposed, they have offered no new ideas and no new leaders after two consecutive elections where both their policies, and the politicians in their party advocating for them, were roundly rejected.
The strategy of "No" has been explicit:
Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor's strategy for the Republicans on the President's economic package? "Just saying no." [Washington Post, 2/9/09]
Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner's idea? Republicans "ought to get the idea out of their heads that they are legislators." [New York Times, 3/14/09]
Almost every Republican voted "No" on the Lily Ledbetter Act, which guarantees equal
pay for equal work for America's working women. [Senate Vote #14, 1/22/09, HouseVote #37, 1/27/09]
No House Republicans supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and only three Republicans supported it in the Senate. [House Vote #70, Senate Vote #70, 2/13/09]
When Congress passed President Obama's landmark budget - a plan to make major investments in and reforms to health care, education and energy, every Republican voted "No." Every single one. [House Vote #192, Senate Vote #154, 4/2/09]
As a result of Republicans saying no for no's sake, public support for Republicans has plummeted:
AP Poll: 65 Percent Of Americans Think That Republicans In Congress Are not Doing Enough To Cooperate With President Obama To Solve The Country's Economic Problems. Additionally, only 29 percent of Americans approve of the way Republicans in Congress are handling the economy. [AP Poll, 4/23/09]
CNN Poll: 61 Percent Of Americans Believe That Republicans In Congress Are Not Doing Enough To Cooperate With President Obama. [CNN, 4/3/09-4/5/09]
NBC/WSJ Poll: 56 Percent Believe Republicans Opposed President Obama's Economic Agenda To Gain Political Advantage. "Polls show that a majority of voters like Obama's attempts to establish bipartisan cooperation and say McConnell's Republicans are playing politics. In a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey, 56 percent said Republicans were opposing President Obama simply to gain political advantage; just 30 percent thought they were standing on principle." [Bloomberg, 3/11/09]
Pew Poll: 70 Percent Say They Have Confidence In Obama on the Economy, But only 38 Percent Say the Same about the Congressional GOP. A Pew Poll found that, "When it comes to economic policy, Obama inspires substantially more confidence than do congressional leaders of either party. Seven-in-ten say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in Obama when it comes to fixing the economy, while just 38 percent say they are confident in the Republicans when it comes to fixing the economy, and 57 percent say they do not have much confidence or no confidence at all in their abilities." [Pew Poll, 4/8/09]
New York Times Poll: President Obama Has a 43 point Advantage Over Congressional Republicans on Trust to Guide the Country's Economy. According to a CBS New/New York Times poll, "by more than three to one, Americans trust the President (63 percent), not Republicans in Congress (20 percent) to guide the country's economy." [CBS New/New York Times Poll, 4/6/09]
What this polling tells us is that by adopting an explicit policy of saying no, the Republican Party is seen as both reflexively partisan and incapable of bringing about the change Americans voted for last fall. Recently, the DNC has highlighted the Republican strategy of no with a new website which includes a new DNC wed ad which chronicles 100 days of GOP obstruction and intransigence.
To be sure, we would rather not have to expose the GOP's strategy of just saying no. It would be better for all Americans if the Republicans would take a page from President Obama's efforts to reach across the aisle and find common ground to solve our country's most severe and intractable problems. To date however, led by the likes of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh, Republicans continue to advocate for the failed polices of the past which created the current problems President Obama is working so hard to solve, while also clinging to the divisive politics and rhetoric which Americans have grown weary of. Here's to hoping that in the next 100 days and beyond Republicans will eschew the "Party of No" label and work with the President and Democrats in Congress constructively to move the country forward