Relationships Matter In Politics

January 10, 2019 at 10:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard

First Read: “It may sound like an old-fashioned sentiment, but one reason for the ongoing impasse is that the relationships between the negotiators are either nonexistent or have broken down. The Obama shutdowns were ultimately solved because Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden had a rapport that allowed them to hammer out a compromise. Does anyone think that Mike Pence and Schumer/Pelosi have that same relationship?”

“Republicans also badly misread Nancy Pelosi with their assumption that she would eventually be willing to cave on the border wall. Our point to any congressional Republican bewildered that she’s unwilling to give in? Remember how hard it was for the GOP to compromise with Obama, knowing the incoming fire they’d take from the base?”

###

https://politicalwire.com/2019/01/10/relationships-matter-in-politics/

---------------------------------------------------------

Trump Finally Has an Adversary that Can Fight Back

January 10, 2019 at 10:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard

Molly Ball: “A new year has dawned in Washington, and this is what it looks like: a partial government shutdown in its third week; a new Congress sworn in only to sit on its hands; an emboldened House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refusing to cede an inch; and an angry President Trump abandoning negotiations to take to television and make the case for crisis measures.”

“But step back from the sordid details, and you could hardly get a more accurate tableau of America’s new political reality: a nonfunctioning federal government whose leaders, each insisting the stakes are too high to budge, have retreated to their corners. At the center of the drama are the two towering figures whose clash will define the next biennium: Trump and Pelosi, the yang and yin of a divided America, two powerful leaders with their credibility on the line, both convinced they hold the winning hand.”

“Neither can afford to lose…. Trump, true to his tendencies, acts on impulse, prevaricates, shreds norms and takes unilateral actions of questionable legality. He stumbles into authoritarianism, not out of calculation but out of machismo. Meanwhile, the Speaker, true to her tendencies, unites her wayward party behind a carefully chosen, logical course of action, but her best-laid plans may still be no match for an extraordinary moment. Ultimately, it is fitting that Trump, avatar of chaos, should face off against Pelosi, master of rules. And there’s no end in sight for the clash of these two titanic figures.”

###

https://politicalwire.com/2019/01/10/trump-finally-has-an-adversary-that-can-fight-back/