When Republicans are in power, Democrats are eager to call for “comprehensive” solutions to just about every issue. While this might sound like a timid plea for compromise, what it really means is “do exactly what I want you to do.”
Let’s take immigration, for example. Despite campaigning hard against former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA), President Donald Trump offered an extremely generous deal in 2017 to extend the program’s benefits to millions of more children in exchange for funding for a border wall. Despite this being a blanket amnesty program, which Democrats foam at the mouths over, they didn’t take it — because they’re not interested in compromise.
Now, let’s look at entitlement reform — perhaps outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan’s most ambitious political goal that will never be realized. Conservative lawmakers have made it perfectly clear they don’t want to push for the libertarian fantasy of removing the welfare state entirely. Instead, thought leaders like Ryan have argued for making entitlements more work oriented, while keeping many existing benefits on the table. Nevertheless, Democrats have indicated they will never budge on Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid — three of the largest government assistance programs in the country.
This is why we need to be very careful when Democrats ask Republicans to “compromise” on anything — they seldom mean it.
~ Facts Not Memes
