Obama to Republicans: So Long, and Thanks for Nothing - by David Roberts

Obama’s seventh-year State of the Union speech had a valedictory feel to it.  There are multiple ways to read the speech’s key line — “Tonight, we turn the page” — but one of them is that any chance for Obama to have the presidency he originally envisioned is finally and entirely over.  He wanted to transcend partisan and racial divisions, to bring people together to solve common problems. It was the premise of his political career.  And it was a nice idea.  But it was not meant to be.  Republicans decided, before he was even sworn in, to deny him all cooperation as a matter of bedrock strategy.

Even after the midterms of 2010 left the Tea Party in control of the GOP, Obama did not give up the dream.  He offered deficit cuts and tax cuts, deported immigrants, boosted shale gas, froze domestic spending, rejected EPA’s initial ozone rule, tried to offer terms of compromise and met only a blank wall of opposition.

The 2014 midterm elections killed the dream once and for all.  There are now essentially no circumstances in which the GOP would compromise with Obama to pass legislation amenable to both sides, not while they control Congress and are jostling for control of the White House in 2016.  They rightly understand that it would be seen as an accomplishment for Obama and a boost for Hillary.

So, in his first two years, Obama got what he could from a Democratic Congress.  Here in the last two, he will get what he can get from executive action.  When the history of his presidency is written, the GOP will play no role other than anchor.

Now that Obama’s got nothing to lose, he has loosened up and gotten bolder.  His “lame duck” period has been a frenzy of action, from EPA to immigration to Cuba to net neutrality to community college to civil asset forfeiture.  Since the GOP has no credible threats to leverage against him, there’s no reason to fear the inevitable high dudgeon of conservative pols and pundits.  The only things that will get done are the things he does himself, so he’s doing stuff.

The page has also turned in the sense that the twin crises Obama inherited — the economic downturn and two endless, fruitless wars — are finally wrapping up, though of course millions continue to suffer the effects of both.  The economy is recovering and the Democrats’ attention is turning to wages and investment.  The bulk of U.S. forces has been withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Though turmoil over terrorism remains, Obama feels confident counseling patience and prudence in foreign policy.

Since there’s no realistic prospect of legislation passing, Obama’s SOTU legislative agenda can mostly be viewed as a preview of 2016.  He’s not asking the GOP for anything, and that freed him up to be more sharply combative and critical.

On the minimum wage:  “To everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this:  if you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it.  If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”

On infrastructure and Keystone:  “Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure — modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet.  Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this.  So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline.”
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And this, on climate change:  “I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act.  Well, I’m not a scientist, either.  But you know what, I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and at NOAA, and at our major universities.”  (Prediction: You won’t be hearing “I’m not a scientist” much any more.)

More than that, the time he spent on it reinforced that it is one of the great unfinished tasks of his presidency, something all future presidents must grapple with.  “The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security,” he said.  “We should act like it.”

Obama to Republicans: So Long, and Thanks for Nothing