Working Beyond Party Politics: The Next Four Years
By Hoda Elshishtawy,
Legislative and Policy Analyst MPAC
Washington, DC
On Monday, Jan. 21, President Barack Obama was publicly sworn in for his second term as the 44 th president of the United States. In his inaugural address , Obama laid out an ambitious plan to move America forward, and we hope this proves to be more fruitful than the last four years.
During his 2009 inaugural address, Obama spoke about the need for Congress to move beyond party lines and work together to make a more effective Washington, DC. Sadly, his determined goals were not realized during his first four years in office.
Now, with a Republican-led House and a Democrat-controlled Senate, the congressional landscape looks much as it did four years ago. How does Obama plan to fulfill the aggressive agenda he laid out when the political landscape is almost identical to what it was when he failed to do it the past four years?
In his speech, Obama reiterated his calls for the nation to work together in both times of prosperity and crisis.
“This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience,” he said during the inaugural address. “A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.”
As sweet to the ears as his inaugural speech was, Obama is still up against an impending debt ceiling crisis, pushing through comprehensive immigration reform and dealing with unstable regions around the world. While Republicans and Democrats are still heavily divided, Obama is optimistic enough to place these ambitious issues on his agenda. Either the President is unaware of his divided Congress or he has an endearing sense of faith that Congress will work beyond party divisions and legislate for the greater good.
While Americans have the right to be skeptical of the President’s ability to fulfill his agenda, there still remains hope in Obama accomplishing some items in his last four years as president. There also is still a lot of legislation that has been stalled from the last Congress that needs to be taken care of - the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act , the war in Afghanistan, taxes and gun violence.
“We come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics,” the President said four years ago.
It’s time we move past petty politics and engage in difficult conversations in order to ensure that America remains a shining city upon a hill.
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