Friday, February 13, 2009

Political Expert: Bipartisanship Not a Likely Reality for Congress

President Obama's call for bipartisanship in Congress is not likely to be answered due to the overwhelming polarization between the Democrats and Republicans on how best to address the issues, policies and problems facing the nation, says Emory political scientist Alan Abramowitz.

In a new column on "The False Hope of Bipartisanship" for the popular "Crystal Ball '09" political analysis web site, Abramowitz says the lack of moderates in both parties will likely make the "ideological gulf" too wide to be overcome in most cases.

"Like it or not, in order to produce the kinds of policy changes for which he campaigned, Mr. Obama is going to have to depend overwhelmingly on the support of his fellow Democrats in the Congress and in the country," says Abramowitz. "So expect more party-line votes in the House and Senate, more complaints from Republican leaders about being ignored, and more strident attacks on the president by conservative pundits and talk-show hosts."

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1 comment:

Shane Vander Hart said...

Well, hey you always have the three turncoat Republicans that the Democrats can turn to so they can claim "bipartisanship."