# Should Obama have been able to get Congress to work with him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064 "2016-01-13T20:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/161 "2016-01-19T00:10:58Z")
I read this long-ass boring book in grad school all about what makes a president successful in Congress. In the end, the answer was - if his party controls Congress, he’s successful, otherwise, he’s not. That was it. And that fits with Obama’s experience. His only major legislative victories came when he had Dems to do it - the Affordable Care Act being the biggest one. The only others were when he outsmarted the Republicans or took advantage of their own divisions, but that was more about preventing their idiocy than moving foward. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/162 "2016-01-19T05:38:48Z")
Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush were pretty successful, as was Clinton. We’re getting back to the Carter era “the job is really, really hard and too much for one man” excuses. Here’s Obama’s real problem. He really just doesn’t have any friends in Congress. It doesn’t help that he got most of his colleagues fired: > **[Why Obama Has So Few Friends on the Hill](https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/302087/why-obama-has-so-few-friends-hill?mref=home_top_main)** > > Many old colleagues from his Senate tenure are gone, and schmoozing was never his strong suit. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/163 "2016-01-20T15:19:28Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Having said that, when your political opponents show themselves willing to shut down the entire government rather than compromise, Oh yes I remember that. You’re right that the Democrats in Congress refused to discuss a compromise that involved cutting spending. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/164 "2016-01-20T15:37:02Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Oh yes I remember that. You’re right that the Democrats in Congress refused to discuss a compromise that involved cutting spending. Awesome, let’s just go back and forth blaming one side or the other for negotiating, as if refusing to simply give up and go along with your wishes is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/165 "2016-01-20T18:43:56Z")
Just pointing out that there is a lot more to this than the Republican obstruction. You’ve got Harry Reid (D-NV) doing his best making sure only the Democrat agenda leaves the Senate. And I know that a lot of people like to think that it is all about Obama being black but there is a lot more to this “obstructionism” than that: The pure vitriol thrown at G W Bush from the Dem side. Well now it’s your turn no matter who the president is because nyah nyah you started it. (Like I predicted) Obama’s lack of time in Federal office before being elected is showing in the lack of gravitas and markers in dealing with Congress. Obama has appeared weak in dealing with Congress up to recently. So why do you have to compromise with someone that will domino and give in? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/166 "2016-01-20T18:51:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Sure, the REpublicans are confrontational and there is an element in the party that doesn’t want to give Obama anything. But there have always been enough votes to pass good legislation along with the Democrats. Perhaps, but the House GOP leadership has so far refused to allow such legislation to come to a vote because they fear the Tea partiers and they don’t want anything that could be viewed as a victory for Dems, even if it involved a majority of Reps too. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/167 "2016-01-20T18:52:31Z")
Some stuff hasn’t come up for a vote. But the budget and spending bills have. The budget process is actually working better since the GOP took control of both chambers. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/168 "2016-01-21T02:32:45Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some stuff hasn’t come up for a vote. But the budget and spending bills have. The budget process is actually working better since the GOP took control of both chambers. Yes, the 2013 givernment shutdown is strong evidence that the Republican control of Congress has put the budget process back on track. So are the recent bills that required a dollar-for-dollar offset for eliminating sequestration for this year and next, but a $700 billion tax cut bill did not require any offset at all. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/169 "2016-01-25T02:45:24Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Simple. All he had to do was give the Republicans everything they wanted, and stop asking for things they didn’t want, and they would have worked with him no problem. > > You know, the Republican definition of ‘compromise’. 'Tis remarkable, especially after the Dems bent over backward for all of Bush’s plans, and after all of their long hours put into making his Presidency a smashing success. Republican ingrates, to a man! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/170 "2016-01-25T02:54:44Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > …then his name - nothing at all racist in that, no sirree. I wonder that you can find that the Republicans were against him because of his name… ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/171 "2016-01-25T03:01:58Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Yes, the 2013 givernment shutdown is strong evidence that the Republican control of Congress has put the budget process back on track. > > So are the recent bills that required a dollar-for-dollar offset for eliminating sequestration for this year and next, but a $700 billion tax cut bill did not require any offset at all. The policy results have been poor, but the process is moving along better, so call it progress for what it’s worth. We went from debt limit brinksmanship, to a shutdown, to negotiations that produced a result. From Democrats’ perspective especially this should all be good, since Democrats wanted higher spending and those tax cuts made permanent. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/172 "2016-01-25T05:01:22Z")
There is no net increase in spending. There are net decreases in taxes. And we are set to go through the same budget negotiations next year with the threat of sequestration returning. You cannot deny that the budget process got WORSE under Republican Congresses. It’s just a fact: a two week shutdown, the credit rating of the Unites States downgraded, the invention of sequestration, failure of the super committee, every other year requiring life or death budget negotiations, budget resolutions are as rare as ever, and the reliance on giant omnibus budget bills late in the year has become totally routine. There is nothing about the budget that has improved under Republican Congresses. This is just another one of your opinions formed without benefit of any facts whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/173 "2016-01-25T05:46:21Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The pure vitriol thrown at G W Bush from the Dem side… You say that like there was no reason for the vitriol. Do you need to be reminded of what an irresponsible disaster he was fiscally as president? Under Obama, there’s been a five percent reduction in unemployment, a significantly reduced budget deficit, a restoring of American honour in the killing of bin Laden, and health insurance for millions more Americans, for just a few examples. What reason is there for vitriol against him? You’d think that was all bad news or something. Only for a party that just wants naked power, never mind how well the country’s doing, is it bad news. If that’s the American way, so be it, but don’t pretend that isn’t what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![irae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f0a364/32.png) [@irae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irae)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/174 "2016-02-03T20:26:04Z")
‘Well yeah we obstructed and filibustered every proposal out of the White House, as we said we would on 1/19/09 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/republicans-had-it-in-for-obama-before-day-1/2012/08/10/0c96c7c8-e31f-11e1-ae7f-d2a13e249eb2\_blog.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/republicans-had-it-in-for-obama-before-day-1/2012/08/10/0c96c7c8-e31f-11e1-ae7f-d2a13e249eb2_blog.html), even if they were our own proposals to begin with, and especially if they’d improve the U.S. economy or the lives of Americans. Why didn’t the President stop us, huh? That guy’s divisive and ineffectual!’ ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/175 "2016-02-03T21:23:29Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > The US Credit rating is lower now. Are you actually arguing that this is a good thing? Or is it more like you are trying to say its a 4 out of 10 on the harm scale rather than a 9? Is it just a matter of degree and you don’t think credit rating is that important, or are you saying something else? I can’t see how you can say that a lower credit rating is not a harm though. Put that idea to a vote and what do you think the public would say? I would say the US credit rating being lower is a 0 out of 10 on the harm scale. Fact of the matter is that the yield on US debt did not increase when the credit rating was downgraded. (IIRC it decreased a bit at the time, but probably ended up with no impact one way or the other.) Anyone who wants to make the case that it had some sort of impact needs to make a fact-based case for it, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064/176 "2016-02-04T03:59:01Z")
Reviewing this thread I was struck how easily an alien would be able to distinguish the two sides just based on the quality of their discourse. For examples: > [@YogSothoth](#): > > Because every metric of how government works and compromises was broken by these past few Republican Congresses. Its literally unprecedented the number of things the GOP has done out of line with the opposition party. > > They’ve [blocked more appointments](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/nov/22/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-82-presidential-nominees-have-been/)than any Congress. Obama appointees have [waited longer](http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/obama-has-waited-longer-for-cabinet-confirmations-than-any-other-recent-president/) than any other appointees by any other recent president. > > The 112th had the [least](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/07/17/the-least-productive-congress-ever/) number of bills passed. > > Under the minority GOP, they’ve essentially instituted a 60 vote barrier to pass anything. Even if the Senate was supposed to work on majority rules, the GOP has used _ **regularly and repeatedly** _ the cloture move. Dems don’t typically play partisan games, so when we know there’s no point in putting a bill through, we generally do not see a point to putting bills to a vote when we know they are going to be blocked. That’s why some GOP pretends that they never filibustered much of Obama’s agenda because the bills technically have never come up for a vote. > > Speaking of odd votes, the GOP has so far voted (at least in the House) **on the ACA repeal 62 fucking times**. Its become a bodily function for them, you wake up, brush your teeth, wash your hair, and vote against the ACA. Its all partisan games. They know Obama will veto it and before this 62nd time, they knew that it would never have gotten past the Senate. Now they finally forced Obama to veto it, and to what end? Just to say[they’ve had the opportunity to do it](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/republicans-vote-repealing-obamacare/). Also happening in this Congress: Mitch McConnell [filibusters his own damn bill](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2012/12/06/dem-unity-forces-mcconnell-to-filibuster-his-own-proposal/). That right there is iron-clad proof that the GOP does not want to govern, they simply want to deny any victories they can to Obama. Full stop. End of story. They have no other agenda. They don’t vote for their own bill when they submit it, they create fake bills to attack Obama on, and they offer nothing as a replacement. So far, there has not been one single solitary attempt at an ACA replacement bill nor one single solitary word spoken on what will to done to help Americans who depend on that bill from the GOP. Not one. Its as certain as death and taxes that the GOP do not intend to provide health care to people > > Under these GOP congresses, the credit rating of the US has been damaged. For probably the first time, the GOP openly side with foreign powers against their own president. They [praise Putin](http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/10/republicans-dream-leader-vladimir-putin.html) when he opposes Obama and also attack Obama for not standing up to him. A [sitting Senator is caught taking a bribe](http://www.dailynewsbin.com/news/republican-congressman-took-million-dollar-bribe-from-israel-to-sabotage-obamas-iran-deal/23464/) from a foreign country to sabotage Obama and somehow this is ok with the GOP when during the reign of GWB, they [decried anyone as traitorous](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/ballot_box/2004/09/imperial_president.html) who dared to even question Bush. > > As far as insane proposals go, its hard to find a crazier proposition to [impeach Clinton on her first day](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mo-brooks-hillary-clinton_5625053de4b0bce3470156eb) as president. And speaking of Hillary Clinton, the country united around Bush for his failure of leadership and absolute incompetent and evil decision to ignore Osama Bin Laden warnings and still gave him the political capital to respond to 9/11. Meanwhile, 4 people in Benghazi died through no fault of anyone in the Obama administration and the GOP has [probed that for longer than the 9/11 investigation.](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/democrats-benghazi-panel-217402) > > This is a tiny, miniscule sample of the hell the GOP has tried to put Obama through, none of which is justified, for simply disagreeing with them. There’s a huge thread in the Pit on exactly how the GOP has failed to govern and failed as human beings in the last few years. As far as I’m concerned, the fact that Obama hasn’t had them all rounded up and shot is too good for them. The GOP has absolutely no fucking intention to govern, has no intention to lead, and no intention to ever compromise. Actual compromises they’ve done, as far as I’m concerned, have happened on accident or are self-serving. None of them can be reasoned with. Obama expended too much time and effort to try to work with them. The fact that there has not been meaningful compromises is 1000% on the GOP and GOP only. No evidence exists to convince a rational human otherwise See? No specifics, no citations, just a cacophony of vague and unsubstantiated charges. This poster even resorts to flinging obscenity as I’ve shown with the **red emphasis**. Contrast that post with this one: > [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope. His skin color has absolutely nothing to do with his total, bumbling incompetence. Note the detailed reasoning, the scholarly thoroughness and discipline, the wealth of examples. This poster would fit right in as a Congressman serving with the Party he so eloquently defends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-obama-have-been-able-to-get-congress-to-work-with-him/743064.md?page=8)