Compromise as an Exception

It would be too good to be true. For now, it remains a pious hope that Congress will once again learn that a political compromise is a valid form of finding the truth.

Even at the risk of the metaphor being somewhat incongruent: This year, with COVID-19 raging and the economy collapsing, is damaging America’s political system and democracy as have few other years in previous decades. The parties hide behind fortifications; the so-called tribalization has further solidified.

The sad high point was the presidential election, discredited beforehand as a scam by its loser, President Donald Trump. Trump, in a defiant and malicious fashion, has not yet acknowledged his defeat. It’s sad that millions of voters are still buying into the myth of election fraud. It isn’t difficult to imagine how people feel about the peace offerings of his designated successor Joe Biden.

Against this backdrop, it’s remarkable that significant bipartisan majorities of both parties in Congress have now agreed on an additional aid package. It’s also remarkable that both sides emphasize that the agreement was reached in a bipartisan way — as if usually the willingness to compromise wasn’t regarded as capitulation.

Does that mean there’s a chance that compromise will be rehabilitated as a way to establish a majority in the post-Trump era? That will be the case for some topics, like the policy toward China and Russia. Unfortunately, it will probably remain an exception. The trenches of Congress are long and wide.