Obama Continues Policy Outreach to Republicans

Obama Continues Policy Outreach to Republicans
By CARL HULSE and JEFF ZELENY
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published: February 2, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/us/politics/03bipartisan.html?th&emc=th


WASHINGTON — Emboldened by the response to President Obama’s face-off with House Republicans last week, the White House is intensifying its push to engage Congressional Republicans in policy negotiations as a way to share the burden of governing and put more scrutiny on Republican initiatives.

The president has invited members of Congress from both parties for a meeting at the White House next Tuesday, the first of the bipartisan brainstorming sessions that Mr. Obama proposed during the State of the Union address. Republicans will also be invited to the White House this weekend to watch the Super Bowl, as well as to Camp David and other venues for social visits.

The outreach represents a marked shift in both strategy and substance by Mr. Obama and his allies at a time when Democrats are adapting to the loss of their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate and the president has been losing support among independent voters.

The White House’s goal is to show voters that Mr. Obama is willing to engage Republicans rather than govern in a partisan manner while forcing Republicans to make substantive compromises or be portrayed as obstructionist given their renewed power to block almost all legislation in the Senate.

While the strategy addresses some of Mr. Obama’s short-term political problems, it is not clear that it will help him with the more fundamental issue facing him as the leader of the party in power, which is showing voters results before Election Day, especially with unemployment in double digits and the health bill stalled.

For their part, Republicans said they were more than happy to showcase their proposals. They acknowledge that Democrats might have some ulterior motives in inviting more participation, but that it could still have benefits for both parties.

Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, when asked if Democrats might be trying to create a treacherous political situation for Republicans, responded, “They might be.”

“When we do policy and get good results, there is always the possibility that Democrats might gain a little politically,” he said. “But I think our main job here is to help the country.”

On Tuesday in Nashua, N.H., Mr. Obama showcased the new approach, urging Republicans to come forward with their ideas while chiding them for their resistance to various initiatives in the hopes of achieving short-term political gain.

“I’ve said to the Republicans, show me what you’ve got,” Mr. Obama told his audience while discussing the stalled health care legislation. “You’ve been sitting on the sidelines criticizing what we’re proposing.”

“You got a better idea,” he added later, “bring it on.”

Many Democrats say they believe that Republicans have been able to gain the advantage over the past year by conducting “hit and run” political attacks that allow the opposition to tear down Democratic proposals without much attention being paid to the Republican alternatives. They say that increased engagement could remedy that disparity.

In a new example of their efforts to showcase Republican ideas, House Democrats on Tuesday quickly jumped on one conservative Republican House leader’s suggestion that promised Social Security and Medicare benefits need to be rethought for Americans under 55.

“I think it is very important that people see what the Republican proposals are,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland. “It is not that they are the party of no, they are the party of no new ideas. They want to turn back the clock and adopt the same Bush policies that got us back in this mess in the first place.”

One example of the White House strategy is likely to play out around Mr. Obama’s support for a bipartisan commission to recommend ways to reduce the deficit, a theme Mr. Obama touched on in New Hampshire.

Administration officials are trying to make the case that Republicans were responsible for driving up the national debt in the Bush years and that they share a responsibility for addressing the situation but are now walking away by opposing the commission that several had initially supported. That move, Democrats say, is evidence that Republicans are unwilling to play a constructive role.

Some Republicans say that they are open to White House overtures but that the party should be wary.

“If the president will consider some free-market economic principles and allow us to leave more money in the private sector rather than demagogue corporations and profits, we might have a chance to work on something,” said Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina. “But if it is just more government spending paid for by taxes on the job creators, it is hard to work with that.”

The outreach is going on behind the scenes as well. David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, initiated a conversation late last year with Alex Castellanos, a leading Republican consultant. Over lunch at the White House mess, aides to both men said, the two had a frank discussion about the first year of the Obama presidency. The dialogue has continued.

Mr. Castellanos said the president and Congressional Republicans could both benefit from stronger efforts at cooperation. But he said the latest discussions seemed to be rooted in political process rather than bridging policy differences.

“There is some naïveté in a president who thinks that if you give everything to everyone then everyone will be happy,” Mr. Castellanos said. “This is arguing about the right way to get to the restaurant instead of what you’re going to eat.”

White House officials said the new approach could help repair Mr. Obama’s standing among independent voters, who catapulted him into the White House but have distanced themselves partly because of the messy legislative debate over health care.

Matthew Dowd, a moderate Republican strategist who was an adviser to President George W. Bush, said that increasing cooperation between the two parties was possible, but difficult given the institutional constraints of the system and Mr. Obama’s role as the leading campaigner for House, Senate and governor’s races.

“It’s going to take the president deciding to be the head of the country, not the head of his party,” Mr. Dowd said. “It takes a serious amount of discipline and courage to do it.”

Peter Baker contributed reporting from Nashua, N.H.