On Sunday, the New York Times‘ Robin Toner took on a subject on which much has been written lately — Social Security — and delivered a story that goes well beyond the routine.
“Nearly everyone agrees that it will be hard, perhaps impossible, for President Bush to overhaul Social Security without bipartisan support,” wrote Toner.
But then she delves into the under-reported question of how likely that across-the-aisle cooperation will be, and why:
[A]ny serious effort to build a bipartisan coalition is bucking some powerful trends. The latest analysis of roll-call votes by Congressional Quarterly showed that 2003 was the most partisan year of the past five decades studied, and 2004 was only slightly less so.
In fact, some political scientists say that Congress has not been this ideologically polarized for a hundred years, based on voting studies that show growing divisions between the parties. “Certainly, the early 20th century is the last time it was anything like this,” said Eric Schickler, a professor of government at Harvard.
The reason? Toner cites the departure of “centrist dealmakers,” and a loss of civility in the normally genteel Senate. She then offers up a fine array of quotes from Democrats and Republicans who can barely restrain their animosity toward each other on this issue.
Republicans have countered that Democrats, in the past, have been more interested in opposition and obstruction than in writing legislation. “We think this is a responsibility of governing,” said John Feehery, spokesman for the House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert. “If Democrats want to help govern, they will participate.”
Toner quotes Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Democratic whip from Maryland, claiming, “This administration’s perception, as well as [Republican Majority Leader Tom] DeLay’s, is that if you agree with what we want to do, you can work on it and we’ll call it bipartisanship.”
Over the course of this year, we’ve cited a handful of examples of enterprising reporters going the extra mile to explain a story, of digging beyond the obvious to provide insights into other forces at work that, ultimately, may shape debate or affect an outcome.
Toner’s done exactly that. And it’s worth noting.
–Susan Q. Stranahan
Susan Q. Stranahan wrote for CJR.