Opinion: GOP divisions hamper compromise

When Republicans won the Senate last November and increased their majority in the House, GOP leaders made clear they intended to end the gridlock of recent years.

“We’re going to function,” vowed the new Senate majority leader, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. The goal, House counterpart Kevin McCarthy said, is to “make the government function again.”

Speaker John Boehner’s abrupt decision to resign exemplifies the extent to which predictable divisions within those majorities have undercut reaching that goal. More importantly, it reflects a similar split within the larger Republican electorate that could jeopardize the GOP chances in 2016 by raising questions about the party’s readiness to govern.

Boehner tired of non-ending efforts to reconcile the traditional conservatives like himself with the tea party activists demanding a more aggressive approach. The activists are quite willing to shut down the federal government to achieve their goals — this year, to block funds for Planned Parenthood health programs and two years ago to kill Obamacare.

The extent to which these Capitol Hill divisions reflect the overall GOP was illustrated by the way Republican presidential hopefuls echoed them in reacting to Boehner’s departure. Establishment conservatives praised Boehner and expressed regret. These included former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“He leaves a legacy of unparalleled integrity and steady, mature leadership during difficult times that will be a model for future House speakers and anyone interested in public service,” Kasich said.

By contrast, the majority of the GOP field hailed the speaker’s downfall. These included everyone from the poll-leading outsiders such as Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina to struggling insurgents such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Trump called Boehner’s departure “wonderful,” complaining that the speaker was “not conservative enough.” Jindal trumped him by exulting, “That’s one down, 434 more to go before we are done” and tweeting, “it’s time to fire everybody in Washington, D.C.” Even Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has sought to straddle the GOP divide, said it underscored his theme that “the time has come to turn a new page and allow a new generation of leadership in this country.”

Their comments reflected the extent to which Republicans want officials to stand up for their principles rather than seek compromise. That contrast has increased the influence of those who came to Washington to reduce the role of government — which they regard as a negative force — rather than to form positive coalitions toward conservative goals.

It’s really a rejection of the governing philosophy of the GOP’s most-revered modern leader, President Ronald Reagan, who believed, “An 80-percent friend is not a 20-percent enemy,” and was always willing to cut a deal achieving most of his goal.

More importantly, all evidence is that an all-or-nothing approach is both impossible to achieve in a politically divided government and likely to prove politically hazardous. If that sort of candidate wins the GOP nomination, it could damage Republican chances next year.

Non-Republican voters favor more bipartisan cooperation, and the political situation awaiting the next president will demand it. Republicans are likely to control the next House, but Democrats will almost certainly have enough strength to prevent a GOP Senate majority from mustering the 60 votes needed to pass a partisan agenda.

So, the only way the next president can get anything done will be across party lines, something that’s anathema to the GOP tea party wing and its adherents.

To be fair, the Democratic race mirrors the GOP’s internal party divisions, with more liberal elements backing Bernie Sanders and the centrist establishment supporting Hillary Clinton (and, potentially, Vice President Joe Biden).

But their contest lacks the nastiness that has marked some Republican rhetoric, and both Clinton and Sanders tout their ability to work across lines, something Republicans other than Kasich rarely mention.

“Everything is going to have to have to be some sort of compromise,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a prominent House GOP pragmatist, said on Fox News Sunday. Although he referred to current battles, his words spoke a reality far too few Republican presidential combatants have been willing to recognize.

— Carl P. Leubsdorf is the former Washington bureau chief of the Dallas Morning News. His email address is carl.p.leubsdorf@gmail.com.