Crisis in Congress

Issue 103 November 2013 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY Crisis in Congress J ASON R OTHAUSE R This is what a government in crisis looks ney pledged to begin to repeal the law on his ner and pushed the confrontation to the like. Last month, on October 1, the federal first day in office. breaking point. Some prominent Republi- government entered its first shutdown since After Obama’s victory, the Republican cans spoke out against the tactic. Republican 1996, when an impasse between President Party’s establishment leaders were ready to Senator Richard Burr said “I think it’s the Clinton and congressional Republicans led move on. Asked about his efforts to repeal dumbest idea I’ve ever heard of.” John Mc- to the government’s doors being shuttered the law after the election, Speaker of the Cain and Representative Peter King made it for almost two weeks. Our most recent shut- House John Boehner replied, “Well, I think clear that they thought the tactic was wrong- down beat that record, coming to an agoniz- the election changes that. It’s pretty clear headed and destined for defeat. In the end, ing close minutes before midnight on Octo- that the president was reelected; Obamacare however, the entire GOP conference held fast ber 16. is the law of the land.” But if the party lead- and voted for a shutdown. The term shutdown is slightly mislead- ership was ready to pick its battles, the Tea President Obama has been quite willing, as most of the government’s most visible Party wing was far from ready to give up. ing to negotiate under adverse pressure. The functions continued unabated throughout Conservative activists were determined Republicans’ refusal to increase the federal the crisis. Any service deemed essential—the not to let the fight end there. Powerful lob- borrowing limit (the so-called debt ceiling, military, for example, or, ironically, congress byists like Jim DeMint at the Heritage Foun- a historical anomaly whereby Congress has itself—continued to function. But every dation and other influential donors were to separately approve the borrowing of funds day brought more stories of gaps left by our among the vanguard of outside groups with to pay for bills it has already passed) led to more peripheral federal services. The fed- a surplus of resources dedicated to help- Obama negotiating for a bargain that would eral park system was closed, veterans were ing to kill the law. Budget negotiations and balance cuts in government spending with turned away from national memorials (with debt ceiling votes had been used previously greater revenue from taxes. That negotiation much media attention), and the fda’s routine to extract concessions, so an obvious tac- collapsed and led to the current budget se- food inspection was suspended. More than tic became clear: tie funding of Obamacare quester, a series of across-the-board spend- 800,000 federal workers were placed on fur- to the funding of the entire government. If ing cuts that were designed to be terrible lough, without pay and forbidden to work. the Democrats wanted any budget, it would enough to force the parties to negotiate in How did we get here? The inability of the have to come at the expense of the president’s the first place. Congress to agree on a budget is not new. For health care law. The president has been willing to com- years, budget negotiations have collapsed, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and others on promise, but not over his signature domestic and the government has largely been funded the GOP’s far right flank took up this ban- legislative achievement, and certainly not by “continuing resolutions.” These tempo- under threat. As he put it: “If you’re in ne- rary budget measures extend existing fund- gotiations around buying somebody’s house, ing levels, kicking the can down the road you don’t get to say, well, let’s talk about the for a year or so without renegotiating terms. price I’m going to pay, and if you don’t give This time, however, no temporary solution the price then I’m going to burn down your was forthcoming. house.” So, realizing that concessions would What was different was the Affordable lead to similar ransom demands for the rest Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. of this president’s administration, Obama Largely similar to the conservative, market- and the Democrats held firm. As it became based healthcare reforms enacted by a Re- increasingly clear that the president would publican governor, Mitt Romney, in Massa- not fold, discussion of defunding Obam- chusetts. Obamacare has become the white acare faded, and Republicans were largely whale of congressional Republicans. Since left to try to save face. Republican Congress- its passage in 2011, House Republicans have man Marlin Stutzman put it perfectly, with a voted to repeal the act forty-six times. The statement that sums up the playground logic 2012 presidential election largely focused on of the whole affair: “We’re not going to be the new health care law, and candidate Rom- disrespected. We have to get something out 1 of this. And I don’t know what that even is.” seeming not to be conservative and combat- A deal was reached to raise the federal ive enough, lest they face an even more con- Editorial Board debt ceiling on the eve of the deadline, Oc- servative primary challenger. EDITORIAL BOARD tober 16. The can has been kicked down the There is no shortage of gop legislators Daniel Briskin road once again. The federal government who find governing in this way to be not Cynthia Duggan is open for business, but is only funded just a losing strategy, but dangerous and ir- Alessia Deglincerti through January 15. The next debt ceiling responsible. But we will continue down this Carly Gelfond vote has been pushed back to mid-February. path as long as the party contains a core Jim Keller The Republicans have had their political faction that is willing, even anxious, to pre- Aileen Marshall noses bloodied by their loss, but nothing cipitate this kind of crisis. There was a time Christina Pyrgaki fundamental has changed. Gerrymandering when the conservatism of the Republican Nicolas Renier of congressional districts has created an un- Party represented sober, pragmatic think- Jason Rothauser precedented amount of highly concentrated ing, particularly with regard to the nation’s Susan Russo Republican voting districts (Democratic economy. The fact that today’s Republican districts are concentrated due to the same Party was willing to take the nation so close selections.rockefeller.edu factors, but not to the same extent). The to the edge of catastrophe shows just how [email protected] pressure on most gop members is to avoid much things have changed. ◉ Life Back on a Roll N ICOLAS R ENIE R I recently got myself an old and clunky film camera, but couldn’t Memory is subjective, and strongly edited by our experience. This completely get rid of the feeling that my frequent visits to Williams- could explain why grainy, soft-focused, and off-colored pictures can burg had taken their toll, and my commitment to hipster culture elicit stronger emotions than a perfectly sharp shot. Photos with lim- had gone too far. There’s apparently not a strong rationale to keep ited depth-of-field (a blurry background) will appear more charming shooting with film today, unless you don’t own a computer. Digital by bringing up the subject. Film, with its lower light sensitivity, is cameras took giant leaps in quality since their crappy beginnings in better than digital at gathering more out of focus light to create mo- the early 2000s and any recent smartphone now outperforms in pic- tion and background blurs, even in broad daylight. ture definition the 35 mm films we all used for decades. You can take The great thing you discover when you get serious about film thousands of pictures without spending a dime and easily broadcast photography is all the creative options available, some of them im- them to anyone. So why bother with film? Does film, like audiotape, possible to recreate with Photoshop or Instagram. Limiting the color belong to the graveyard of technologies that we can happily leave be- palette is a great way to take moody and impactful pictures. Black hind? and white is the most obvious example (everybody looks more stylish Although the gap is closing, film still retains slight technical ad- and clever in black and white), but it is not the only way. Load a color vantages over digital sensors in some aspects. Film makes color pop, film backward in the canister (emulsion facing opposite to the lens), thanks to strong saturations and infinite gradations. Try a color slide a process called “redscale photography,” and you’ll completely get rid film (they still exist!) on a bright sunny day, and your eyes will melt of the blues. Reds will be overwhelming, painting your shots with from the vibrant hues. Film does not saturate in the highlights as eas- sepia tones, and greens will randomly rise in the highlights to give ily as digital sensors, so those white clouds can still have rich details, golden tones. If you don’t feel like reloading a film backwards in its and a flash picture might not turn you into a ghastly spectre. Because canister yourself (a tricky proposition to execute in total darkness), of its grain, film has smoother tran- you can buy these modified sitions in details and makes the pic- films at any serious camera tures more organic and less sterile.

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