This is Our Chance

 We Can Overcome Hyper-Partisanship

We have a chance now to overcome the extreme partisanship that has poisoned our politics for decades. We can turn away from blind partisanship and toward a practical politics that is focused on doing what is right for the American people. Congress has recently passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which is very popular among the American people. It is of course supported by most Democrats, but it is also supported by a majority of Republicans according to a recent survey. In spite of the act’s popularity among Republican voters, it passed Congress without a single Republican vote in either the House or the Senate. Why did Republican senators and representatives vote against a bill that was so popular with their constituents?

The Radical Right is Vulnerable

The answer is that Republican politicians are afraid that if they break partisan ranks to vote for a measure like the American Rescue Plan, their party’s radical right will mount primary challenges against them. It doesn’t matter that the ARP is supported by most Republican voters. As long as it is supported by Democrats, it will be opposed by the radical rightists, and they will keep the Republican legislators in line. Now, however, the radical rightists are vulnerable. They have found no coherent way to oppose the American Rescue Plan, and their only hope is to divert our attention to other issues.

Keep the Focus on the American Rescue Plan

We must do all we can to prevent that. We must make sure that the ARP remains front and center in our political conversations. If we can do that, we may be able to overcome the barrier of hyper-partisanship. Pres. Biden has embarked on a national speaking tour to explain the ARP to the American People and to build on their support for it. If he is successful, he may be able to open a space in which Republican politicians can again act in the interest of their constituents instead of bending to the will of the radical right, which has always been a minority of Republicans.

We must do our part. We must engage in conversations with our friends and neighbors about the contents of the ARP. We must help them to see the ways in which in benefits them. We must not allow the radical right to divert attention to other issues, to personalities or to purely partisan matters. If we want our country to return to a reasonable politics of interest and compassion, this is our chance. If we want to turn away from hyper-partisanship, this is our chance.