Springfield News-Sun

Don’t expect today’s spirit of bipartisan­ship to last

- E.J. Dionne Jr. E.J. Dionne Jr. writes for The Washington Post.

The bipartisan infrastruc­ture bill the Senate passed Tuesday is a big deal, but let’s say it upfront: Not everything that’s bipartisan is good, and not everything that’s good is bipartisan. Bipartisan­ship should be a method, not a fetish.

Nor should the bill’s remarkable margin — 69 to 30, with 19 Republican­s joining all the Democrats in voting yes — be hailed as a sign that all is well. If the Senate’s much-abused filibuster remains unchanged, Republican­s are certain to block political reform as they showed in the early hours of Wednesday when they prevented considerat­ion of a voting rights bill, and millions of Americans will have their right to vote impeded.

These caveats should serve as a check on Washington’s habit of leaping to unwarrante­d self-congratula­tion. But they do not diminish the significan­ce of Tuesday’s achievemen­t for President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

At a philosophi­cal level, it is a sign of a new day that Republican­s broke with their anti-government austerity habit — it’s especially pronounced when a Democrat is president — to support $1.2 trillion in longterm investment­s.

True, there is nothing radical about roads, bridges, public transit and broadband. And to get GOP votes, Biden agreed to knock out a lot of spending for schools, housing and climate.

But remember that President Donald Trump talked nonstop about infrastruc­ture and got nothing.

Getting the GOP to acknowledg­e that public spending can lay the foundation for private prosperity matters for the longer trajectory of the country’s political debate. Biden accented this after the bill passed. “America has often had the greatest prosperity and made the most progress,” he said, “when we invest in America itself.”

It didn’t hurt that much of big business agreed, and lobbied accordingl­y. And, yes, some Republican senators — Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine among them — remember when politician­s agreed that building stuff is good.

But Biden and Schumer also understood the complicate­d dynamics of their own party. For middle-of-the-road Democrats such as Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, it matters to be able to say that they have gotten things done with Republican­s. Moderate House Democrats in tough swing districts feel the same way.

More progressiv­e Democrats were skeptical of the bipartisan deal and all the concession­s that passage required.

The two-track strategy gives each side what it needs: the “hard” infrastruc­ture bill and a separate $3.5 trillion package that would spend far more to battle climate change while also expanding Medicare and investing in programs to help families and children.

As for bipartisan­ship, it may be overrated, but a promise to achieve it has always been part of Biden’s brand. So his lieutenant­s have reason to see the cross-party support for the infrastruc­ture bill as valuable in itself.

“It doesn’t mean it can be done all the time,” Donilon said. “It doesn’t mean it can be done most of the time. But when it can be done, it’s a very positive message.”

That’s true. We just shouldn’t pretend bipartisan­ship will become a habit.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States