Despite increasing their majorities in both the Senate and the House in 2004, the Republican Party has shown a stunning inability to govern in an effective manner during the current Congress. President Bush's Social Security privatization scheme was dead on arrival. There has been scant oversight of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent in Iraq and the Gulf Coast. It increasingly appears that the Congress will not be able to pass a budget this year. Immigration reform seems to be stuck in the mud, as does the pension reform bill. And what ever happened to the legislation funding stem cell research, which passed in the House of Representatives but has yet to see the light of day in the Senate?
With such a lackluster record of success, what can the Do Nothing Republicans do to distract the American people from their inability to govern effectively? Turn to social issues, naturally. Laurie Kellman has the story for the Associated Press.
Protection of marriage amendment? Check. Anti-flag burning legislation? Check. New abortion limits? Check.Between now and the November elections, Republicans are penciling in plans to take action on social issues important to religious conservatives, the foundation of the GOP base, as they defend their congressional majority.
In order not to get trounced this fall, GOP candidates need the most regressive elements of their base to turn out en masse, and these pieces of social legislation -- which have little to no chance of being enacted into law -- might help bring an ultra-conservative or two to the polls on November 7. But playing not to lose -- which is a last resort in a time of weakness -- is not the same thing as playing to win.
According to the most recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll (.pdf), there is an astoundingly large 26-point gender gap on the generic congressional ballot question, with men narrowly favoring the Republicans by a two-point margin while women support the Democrats by a whopping 28-point margin. Trying to pass legislation that would restrict women's right of choice -- particularly after approving of two anti-choice Supreme Court Justices and countless more appellate judges -- isn't going to decrease that killer gender gap one bit.
In a time of great weakness, the Do Nothing Republicans in Washington are resorting to their last option -- fairly trivial social legislation with no hope of passage -- to ensure that even if they are beaten this fall, their loss won't be catastrophic. But by playing not to lose badly, they are essentially conceding that they cannot win this year. Not the type of message a party's leadership usually sends out to its voters during an election year.
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