Davis: "No Reward" In Bipartisanship
GOPers with no stake in governing have nothing to gain in working with Dems on a bipartisan jobs bill or other legislative measures, ex-Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) told reporters today. And not getting involved in a sticky situation could help the GOP pick up seats.
The party recognizes a mistake it made in '78, when, working with Dems, the GOP became "complicit" in governing, Davis said. No one, he said, should wonder why GOPers aren't working with Dems to forge a bipartisan compromise. "Traditionally, there's no reward for that at the ballot box."
"Obama and Democrats own the economy right now. Obama and the Democrats own Afghanistan right now. These are the variables," Davis said. "In campaigns, there are 3 things that hurt incumbents: Bad economies, scandals and bad foreign policies."
Davis, the former chair of the NRCC, sees his party in strong position to pick up seats this Nov. He is especially emboldened by election results from VA and MA, where GOPers saw big gains among suburban voters who had abandoned the party in recent years. And though the late Tip O'Neill maintained that all politics is local, Davis sees more benefits in talking about national issues.
"This will be the third straight nationalized election. That's odd," Davis said. "This is a referendum on the Democrats, pure and simple."
But, Davis said, to maximize the party's potential gains, the party needs to focus not on ideological purity, but on uniting behind the one thing all members of the GOP can agree on -- defeating Dems.
"You want to have everybody that's ticked off at the administration, you want them under your banner. You want to just make that coalition as large [as possible]," Davis said. "You'll fight about policy afterwards, but let's get our people elected."
That means any document akin to the Contract with America should be full of generalities focused on good governance -- making legislative meetings more open, or posting bills online before a vote, for example -- instead of specific policy procedures.
Davis did not put an exact number on the seats he thought his party would gain in this year's elections, but he said anything less than 25 seats would be disappointing. He pointed to strong recruiting -- stronger than any class since '46, when the GOP took back the House -- but he pointed to 2 special elections in NY and to Dems' financial advantage as factors of which to be wary.
"The Democrats have shown they know how to win campaigns," Davis said. But he pointed to internal polls that show GOPers running well against Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who holds Davis's old seat, and other junior Dems.
The reason for creating bipartisan legislation should not be to seek "reward at the ballot box". It should be to create legislation in the best interest of Americans.