Thankful For Some Political Cooperation

Politicians give us almost endless fodder for criticism. The press, ever the opportunists, is more than happy to report each and every one of the occasions where policymakers screw up. However, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, it seems fitting to call attention to the aspects that Washington has gotten right in the past year—particularly the portions with support from both sides of the aisle. Here are five items that those involved in US politics have accomplished this year that we can all be thankful for:

1. Foreign wars have an end in sight. Major operations in Iraq are ending within a month and Afghanistan’s troop levels will be decreased from 100,000 to about 10,000 over the next two years. Everyone is happy to see our soldiers coming home after nearly ten years of controversial warfare abroad and gives many a lot to be thankful for.

2. Linked to the entry above, the signing of the Veterans Jobs Bill by President Obama this week is immensely popular. The bill gives employers benefits if they hire a military veteran. Politically, the bill had bipartisan backing from nearly every republican and democrat.

3. In the past year, grassroots movements have energized the right and left. The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements have raised serious questions and afforded people outlets to express their concerns on financial, diplomatic, and social issues being ignored by many mainstream politicians. After decades of declining interests in the democratic process, both of these trends prove many Americans care about the system and are thankful for their right to free speech and assembly.

4. Discussions on the national debt have been serious for the first time in years. Sequestration mandates some cuts, and an ongoing dialogue will eventually yield more meaningful deficit reduction as politicians finally seem to be taking this concern earnestly. This is one of the primary topics for the upcoming election, and whoever wins, you can be sure to see some real deficit cutbacks—either through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of the two.

5. Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat, and more broadly, al Qaeda is significantly less powerful now than it was ten years ago. This has been joint effort from republicans and democrats as well as the Bush and Obama administrations. The world is a better place without bin Laden and a safer place with a weaker and more disorganized al Qaeda.

Clearly, despite the gridlock constantly advertised, some effective, popular, and wide-reaching goals can be met through political cooperation — and the vast majority of Americans are thankful for these instances. Now, we just have to hope for a few more.

- Kit

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November 24th, 2011 | Mara | Comments Off |