Now, That's How it's Done

In case you haven’t noticed, the last few months of political discourse in America have centered around a controversial national health care bill. For decades, national health care has been the pet-project of the Democratic Party. More than one and a half decades ago, the nation was enveloped in debate regarding a similar health care initiative proposed by another young, liberal, Democratic President. Now, that debate has surfaced again, and is highlighting some very interesting features of today’s political and congressional landscape.

In particular, the apparent cleavage between “blue dog” Democrats and the rest of the Democratic Party has proven to be more than just interesting. It has highlighted the major flaw of today’s Democratic Party; a lack of party unity. The inability to get “blue dog” Democrats on-board with the national health care plan is threatening to severely alter the Democrats’ original bill once it gets through Congress, if it gets through at all.

Perhaps the Democrats in Congress could take a lesson from our friends Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling, whose successful campaigns for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, respectively, have been the result of an all-too-rare display of party unity. In an article released today by The Washington Times, the true relationship—or, more appropriately—partnership between McDonnell and Bolling was exposed.

During the last few months of 2007 and the first few months of 2008, both McDonnell, who was Attorney General of Virginia at the time, and Bolling, who was already Lieutenant Governor, were considering running for Governor in the upcoming gubernatorial race. Both men had worked under the two, previous Democratic governors, and had experienced the set-backs that come from a weak, divided party.

Then, in March of 2008, Bolling contacted McDonnell and the two men struck a deal. Both men understood the importance of having a strong, unified party if they hoped to reclaim Virginia for the Republicans. If both Bolling and McDonnell were to run for Governor, they would undoubtedly split the Republican vote and neither man would be Governor. So, in the interest of maintaining party unity, Bolling told McDonnell that he would instead run for a second term as Lieutenant Governor, and gave McDonnell the go-ahead to run for Governor.

So far, their tactic has proven successful. Both McDonnell and Bolling hold double-digit leads over their opponents in the most recent polls. This is in part due to the success they have had with campaigning on a unified platform. Their opponents, Creigh Deeds and Jody Wagner, have often contradicted each other in the media regarding hot button issues like transportation and the economy. The strength of Virginia’s Republican Party has also translated to the Virginian Senate delegate races, where Republicans are hoping to reclaim up to 12 seats.

The deal struck between McDonnell and Bolling almost one-and-a-half years ago is emblematic of the current unity within the Republican party, both in Virginia and throughout the nation. While the Democrats squander away their majority status in Congress and their control of the White House, Republicans are coming together to forge a plan for the future of both the party and the nation. The Republicans’ success in this year’s gubernatorial race is a perfect example of that.

Check out the article here