It should be painfully obvious that Republicans have not demonstrated the leadership necessary to reclaim the White House in 2016. Republican control of Congress has been characterized by the same party infighting and partisan politics that have dominated Washington politics in recent years. The American people elected Republicans to Congress not merely because they were fed up with Democrats but because they were fed up with those partisan trends. If Republicans fail to achieve significant legislative victories in the next year-and-a-half, their chances come 2016 will fall significantly.
However, President Obama’s veto power virtually guarantees that conservatives will not be able to force legislation through Congress. This leaves Republicans only one option: Work with Democrats. This means that Republicans will not be able to repeal Obamacare, make major reforms to entitlements, or enact significant tax cuts during the next two years. Instead, Republicans should focus on the legislative actions that can be accomplished while Obama is in office.
This does not mean the Republicans should completely ignore other issues; they should be very present within the campaigns and public platforms of the GOP. If Republicans make significant legislative progress in the next 18 months and go on to win the White House, then all of these policies should be back on the table because they would actually have a reasonable chance of passing.
In the meantime, what can Republicans do? A good place to start would be granting Trade Promotion Authority to President Obama. Trade Promotion Authority gives the president the power to submit negotiated trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote, bypassing the traditional amendment process.
It is generally considered critical to passage of major free-trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is currently nearing the end of the negotiation phase. Obama has expressly asked for the TPA and Republicans support free-trade legislation, so as long as Republicans are willing to swallow their pride and work with Obama, this should be a great starting place for bipartisan cooperation.
Another potential area for cooperation is legislation targeted at helping low-income workers. Potential proposals in this area could include an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which supplements the incomes of low-income workers. Until recently, the program has received widespread bipartisan support (even President Reagan expanded the program) and has proved to be the most successful government program aimed at reducing poverty. An expansion of the EITC would be incredibly popular with voters and also would be an excellent alternative to a minimum wage hike as it would introduce far less distortions into the economy. In addition, the EITC is only available to people who hold jobs so it represents a welfare policy the Republicans can support: One that rewards hard workers. The program’s expansion could also be coupled with a reform of the application process for the EITC to reduce the number of fraudulent claims.
Republicans could also work with Democrats on passing a bill for the benefit of small businesses as both parties constantly appeal to the importance of this group of producers. All of these options represent areas where the potential for bipartisan cooperation exists despite the partisan political climate. Although these proposals do not represent optimal conservative legislation, they represent a realistic agenda until 2016. Republicans primary objective should be ensuring they regain the presidency because only with White House support will the have the power necessary to enact their agenda. For now, compromise is the only option.
