Engaging Republicans

This NYT article refers to Obama's offer during his State of the Union address to work more closely with congressional Republicans to pass future legislation.

Republicans have been united against the president since he took office, especially on health care. The article below goes over some of the issues but I think Republican blockades can be explained better than some Democrats who just call them "the party of 'no'."

A Democrat from Maryland was more accurate in calling them "the party of no new ideas."

To the Republicans' credit, their unity against the health care bills make sense. They are the party which stands for smaller government and does anyone actually believe that covering uninsured with federal money is going to save money over time? So they should be united against a bill that plans on expanding the size of the government. They have been portrayed as not believing health care is a major issue that must be dealt with immediately. But they are congressmen. They're smart. They know people are going without insurance who need it. When Howard Dean - a physician, former DNC chairman, and former Democrat presidential candidate - thinks the administration should scrap the current health bill because it is too full of special interest influence and will not be that effective, then the Republicans don't look so silly in opposing it.

I think Republicans should be criticized when they unite against things to score points with their voters. And they can legitimately be criticized as a party of no new ideas because of the tired mantra "tax cuts, smaller government, etc.". Those aren't new ideas. And the Bush administration showed how sometimes those free market principles need to be compromised.
From The New York Times:

Obama Acts to Engage G.O.P., Testing Party's Intentions
By CARL HULSE and JEFF ZELENY

The outreach is a marked shift in White House strategy intended to share the burden of governing and force Republicans to make compromises or be portrayed as obstructionist. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/us/politics/03bipartisan.html

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