On the day we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as president, having won the 2012 elections.
The 113th Congress, which was seated earlier in January, returns as a body divided, the Senate controlled by Democrats and, despite having lost the popular vote for control of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber is still controlled by Republicans.
The Republican Party was able to retain control of the House because the Republican Party is not made up of idiots. Having achieved a widespread victory in 2010 at almost every level of government, the GOP was in a place to control the drawing of congressional districts for the 2012 elections as they saw fit.
Republican gerrymandering allowed the GOP to retain control of the House in 2012 despite the fact that more votes were cast nationally for Democrats in House races than for Republicans. Thanks to the shady government manipulation that comes standard with the Republican brand, the GOP only lost eight seats in 2012, instead of the majority.
Obama will now have to contend with a House of Representatives unwilling to play ball.
Too often and too publicly, the GOP has made clear their number one priority is to obstruct the President's plans. Holding steadfast to rigid ideology has created a lower chamber that refuses to compromise and holds firm to the Hastert Rule - that is only bills that the majority of the majority support will be voted on - essentially making bipartisan but Democratic favored bills obsolete in the House.
The House has become the place where bipartisan efforts from the White House and Senate go to die.
The House of Representatives, and our congressman Mike Rogers, should recall that in 2012, the American people rejected the Republican Party, even in the popular vote for the one national body they still control.
While serving in the opposition comes with the responsibility to temper what might otherwise be a hyper-partisan agenda, it also comes with the responsibility to compromise. In fact, that responsibility comes with public service.
On everything from taxes to spending cuts, the President and Senate Democrats have shown a willingness to meet the Republicans in the middle.
It's time for Speaker Boehner, Congressman Rogers, and their ilk to stop demanding deals that favor the GOP 90-10 and start doing the business the American people, by popular vote, sent Democrats there to do: govern our country.
Alexander B. Roberson
College Democrats
President Emeritus
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