If you are my age, you probably remember the great old western movie “High Noon.” The Marshall (Gary Cooper) of a frontier town meets a gun-slinger and his outlaw gang at noon in a shoot-out. It is a tense, decisive moment.
On a recent Friday, it was “high noon” in the halls of Congress as the time approached for a decisive vote on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. But then, it didn’t happen. The votes weren’t there. “High noon” was a fizzle.
I am sure many in our community were watching since in the midst of all the legal language in the bill was a provision that would have prohibited New York state’s current mandate of requiring that a significant portion of Medicaid costs be paid by counties. Since 50% of our local county property tax bill goes to Medicaid, this could have ended up being a tremendous benefit to local tax payers.
However, that provision, along with everything else being proposed never saw the light of day. Action on the repeal of Obamacare was called off, and I doubt will be tried again in this current Congress.
What the blow-up in repealing Obamacare highlighted was the continuing story we have seen since John Boehner was Speaker of the House of Representatives. There really is no true governing majority in the Republican Party in the House when it comes to tough issues.
The same kind of impasse is likely to be seen again in upcoming tough votes like extending the national debt limit or passing another budget. It appears likely that we are entering a time of national political gridlock where very little is going to get done.
Let’s hope it doesn’t result again in a shutting down of the government.
What it means for our new President is that he is going to have to try and cobble together a coalition which can govern. The “Art of the Deal” is now going to be more difficult. Somehow a coalition of Republicans and Democrats will need to be formed in the House of Representatives so that the governing of this great nation can continue to happen.
One idea might be to look at what the Republicans in New York state have done in the State Senate.
They have agreed to work with a splinter group of Democrats (who call themselves the “Independent Democratic Coalition”) to cooperate on major legislation and in putting together the annual state budget. So far this effort of bi-partisanship in Albany has been productive.
Are the Republicans in the House of Representatives in Washington ready to embrace such an idea? Is there a group of independent minded Democrats who will break with their established ranks to do this?
The lesson being learned again in Washington is that it is a lot easier to get elected than it is to govern. Yet, good governance is actually what the people need and want. What we are going to find out in the coming months is whether the Congress is capable of doing it.
Rolland Kidder
Stow, NY
On a recent Friday, it was “high noon” in the halls of Congress as the time approached for a decisive vote on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. But then, it didn’t happen. The votes weren’t there. “High noon” was a fizzle.
I am sure many in our community were watching since in the midst of all the legal language in the bill was a provision that would have prohibited New York state’s current mandate of requiring that a significant portion of Medicaid costs be paid by counties. Since 50% of our local county property tax bill goes to Medicaid, this could have ended up being a tremendous benefit to local tax payers.
However, that provision, along with everything else being proposed never saw the light of day. Action on the repeal of Obamacare was called off, and I doubt will be tried again in this current Congress.
What the blow-up in repealing Obamacare highlighted was the continuing story we have seen since John Boehner was Speaker of the House of Representatives. There really is no true governing majority in the Republican Party in the House when it comes to tough issues.
It appears likely that we are entering a time of national political gridlock where very little is going to get done.
The same kind of impasse is likely to be seen again in upcoming tough votes like extending the national debt limit or passing another budget. It appears likely that we are entering a time of national political gridlock where very little is going to get done.
Let’s hope it doesn’t result again in a shutting down of the government.
What it means for our new President is that he is going to have to try and cobble together a coalition which can govern. The “Art of the Deal” is now going to be more difficult. Somehow a coalition of Republicans and Democrats will need to be formed in the House of Representatives so that the governing of this great nation can continue to happen.
One idea might be to look at what the Republicans in New York state have done in the State Senate.
They have agreed to work with a splinter group of Democrats (who call themselves the “Independent Democratic Coalition”) to cooperate on major legislation and in putting together the annual state budget. So far this effort of bi-partisanship in Albany has been productive.
Are the Republicans in the House of Representatives in Washington ready to embrace such an idea? Is there a group of independent minded Democrats who will break with their established ranks to do this?
The lesson being learned again in Washington is that it is a lot easier to get elected than it is to govern. Yet, good governance is actually what the people need and want. What we are going to find out in the coming months is whether the Congress is capable of doing it.
Rolland Kidder
Stow, NY
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