The GOP and Their Strategy as the Party of No

When President Obama was elected, the Republican Party, it seemed, had bottomed out. Faced with the question of how to garner a new wave of support, they could collaborate in the spirit of bi-partisanship or develop their own credible alternatives to the bills with which Congress was tasked--health care reform, climate-change, the stimulus package and the budget, reports Time. And so the 'Party of No' was born.
 
"It was a very dangerous strategy because, if the stimulus worked, the Republicans would have been very vulnerable," says John Feehery, a Republican strategist. "But it didn't work and that gave the GOP some needed credibility."
 
Scott Brown's win gave the GOP further proof that their message--Obama's policies will only continue to eliminate jobs--was resonating. But for how long will this game of partisan chicken sustain itself, with both sides saying they will work together once the other shows a willingness to cooperate?
 
"Republicans realize they have to look like they are at least trying to get something achieved this year, even as they benefit politically from continued gridlock on Capitol Hill," reports Time. Meanwhile, the White House and its Democratic allies are banking on the Republicans' refusal to "even consider supporting some moderate proposals on tax cuts and deficit commissions a liability in the fall."
 
(Photo by M.V. Jantzen; C.C. 2.0)