Another autopsy? Time for both parties to examine themselves

Clarence Page, Tribune Content Agency on Nov 10, 2020

And, as much as the GOP is divided between its moderates and its conservative base, Democrats are no less divided on the left. “The Squad” of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota were all reelected.

The Squad is expected to expand with at least three new progressives: New York’s Jamaal Bowman, Missouri’s Cori Bush and Illinois’ Marie Newman, who, in the primary, unseated U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress.

What does the yawning gap between the party of Trump and the party of the Squad mean for the next term?

“The pressure in the Democratic Party on the life issue has never been as great as it is now,” Lipinski lamented after his loss. I agree, but that’s only one of the hottest issues that polarizes Congress these days.

The immediate forecast, if the Republicans hold their Senate majority, is more gridlock, like that which stymied Obama’s agenda after Democrats lost their Senate majority in the 2010 midterms. Up against Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Obama was reduced to signing executive orders — his “pen and a phone” — instead of legislation to get much of anything done.

That’s what faces presumptive President-elect Joe Biden, if the Senate stays Republican. Meanwhile, both parties have their ideological purists who feel energized enough by Trump’s successes to lose their patience with cautious moderates.

But I am not alone in thinking that lurches toward the far right or left would be the wrong lesson to take away from this election. Black voters in South Carolina’s primary gave Biden a critical boost to the head of the pack, where he remained after Democrats let their pragmatism come out. Better to win with a moderate, it was reasoned, than risk losing with a left-winger.

Republicans stuck overwhelmingly with Trump, despite many having to hold their noses over his abrasive abuses of norms and a preference for Fox News over his better-informed experts, some of whom he denounced wildly as the “deep state.” As one who prefers the good old days when both parties actually worked together on most legislation, I was relieved by his defeat.

As many historical scholars say, the nation’s founders set up our three branches of government so occasional gridlock would force opposing sides to compromise. They did us a favor. Most voters in this very diverse nation have shown repeatedly that, as much as we may want to shake things up occasionally, we just as easily can swing back — and hope the losers are gracious enough to leave without a big fuss.

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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)