A Grand Bargain?

 

 

"To get a little, you got to give a little"

I was waiting to see how long it would take for this old catch phrase to come up again. Since the shutdown has become so mired in the muck, and nobody is ready to give an inch, the idea of a Grand Bargain as again surfaced. I have always liked the idea of an omnibus solution to many vexing problems or issues. With larger deals (although complicated), there are more opportunities to give and take, make concessions, make gains, get results.

My only issue with a Grand Bargain at this juncture is timing. The regular clock has run out and we are running out of overtime. However, many of the things being discussed are familiar topics. For the Republicans, it would probably be tax reform, entitlement reform, approval of the Keystone Pipeline and maybe some others. For the President, it would be immigration reform, a version of "Cap and Trade", and of course, keeping ObamaCare intact. In exchange for agreement on some of issues, with absolute milestones established for agreement on the rest, a clean CR would be released, and the debt ceiling would be raised.

Before I go much further, I know that some have just fallen off their chairs laughing. Some  might be saying, "Oh my gosh! This is TOTAL capitulation - total surrender!" To that I will respond by saying a basic cornerstone of any good negotiation is this - you have to give some to get some. The Vikings would not trade Adrian Peterson for some future 5th round draft pick. They would trade him for something of commensurate value. The same is true for a Grand Bargain - both sides are going to have to give up a "pet rock" to get something in return they really want.

To get to a Grand Bargain, there are some basic rules to follow:

• First and foremost, stop the name calling. It is childish and serves no purpose in obtaining a settlement.
• Show leadership, especially from the President. Crossing your arms and saying "I won't negotiate" will solve nothing.
• Stop posturing through the media. Negotiations should be between the two parties only. If negotiations go well or poorly, only the parties need to know.
• Treat each other with RESPECT at the table.
• TRUTH TALK instead of lies, half truths and talking points. 
• Try to understand where the other party is coming from on each issue.

I have said this before - what both sides need to realize is our DEBT is the biggest internal danger we face right now as a country. Getting a handle on this should be the goal that BOTH sides have as item number one. Raising the debt ceiling every few months and then going through this stock dance over and over is no way to run a railroad (or a country). By the way - whether both sides want to admit this or not, ObamaCare is part of the debt issue. We all know it is going to cost more than forecasted, so we need TRUTH TALK at the table.

One final thing. There is a reason why outside negotiators are often brought in for important deals. People who are too close, who have too much history, are often too tainted to be objective enough to craft a deal. Both sides should bring in non-aligned pros to get this thing going.

October will be a pivotal month for our country. We will either show the world we know how to solve complicated issues, or confirm the worst fears in many - we have become ungovernable. For me, I will vote for the former.