Editorial #2

This week I chose another article that focuses on the new stimulus package. It was written by Ruth Marcus, a journalist who currently writes an op-ed column for the Washington Post. She was also a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in commentary. The article begins with the stimulus debate, which ended up losing more Democratic votes than it gained Republican ones. Seven Democrats chose to vote against the bill, while only three Republicans voted for it. The Republicans are maintaining a fairly united front against the bill. This is helped along by the peer pressure other party members are putting on those who support the stimulus. Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins said, “The reaction against those of us who negotiated and endorsed the package is really harsh.” The pressure was so great that even Republicans that were “leaning yes” changed their mind when it came time to actually cast the vote. This stand against the President’s stimulus bill shows that the Republican Party still holds some power in the government. As for the three Republicans that voted in favor of the bill, they made it impossible to blame the entire party for the consequences of not passing the bill. The Republicans in the Senate face a tough two years, and they will probably look back on this as the good times of Republican unity.
I found this article interesting because I never thought that peer pressure could play such a major role in the Senate. I remember learning about the whips and how they supposedly kept Senators and Representatives voting within party lines, but I had never heard of a specific example. The story of the “party’s chief deputy whip” standing near a senator, that was leaning yes, during the vote and making him vote no really stuck with me. Hopefully the Republicans will not have such success with future bills.