The Wall Street Journal had an interesting editorial today on how Daschle has been stalling on legislation this year. (Unfortunately it’s not available online for free.) As they note:
Mr. Daschle is fighting tooth and nail even on bills that both sides can agree are beneficial. Witness the struggle of Majority Leader Bill Frist just to get Democrats to send to conference a bill bringing corporate taxes into compliance with World Trade Organization rules. Such conference agreements used to be routine. Because of the two months of needless delay after Senate passage of the bill, there may not be time left in this Congress to reach a compromise with the House. That means European Union sanctions against American businesses will continue to ratchet up each month, costing jobs.
The Democratic calculus here is obvious. Usually when Congress is gridlocked, the public blames the majority for failing to compromise enough to get something done. That’s what happened in 2002 to Democrats who had obstructed passage of a homeland security bill in order to placate union demands. Mr. Daschle lost his majority. But rather than conclude that he had been too obstructionist, Mr. Daschle decided he hadn’t been obstructionist enough. And because the GOP now has nominal Senate control with 51 seats, he figures the public will blame
Republicans this time for the failure to get much done.
So far he has been right, judging by the polls. Then again, Democrats also thought they were winning in 2002, until Election Day approached, voters figured out what was happening, and Max Cleland among others was ousted. Which suggests that this pattern of obstructionism should be a major issue again this fall. If voters want to end gridlock in the Senate, much less pass Social Security reform or make tax cuts permanent, they are going to have to send a message to the obstructionists.
Which is exactly what I’m predicting will happen. Especially in Tom Dashcle’s home turf of South Dakota, people want their government to get things done. Daschle has very little to run on at home. He has stalled on the President’s judicial nominees. He has stalled on trade. He has stalled on passing appropriations bills. He has been the biggest roadblock in the Senate. This approach will not sell in South Dakota – as it undermines his single biggest argument for reelection. It’s hard to say that you have “clout” in the Senate when the best you can do is stall on every bill that comes your way. “Clout” implies being able to get things done, and on that account Daschle’s “clout” is worth little.