Daniel Larison ponders whether Republicans will be able govern effectively if they win control of Congress. The skills that allow one to win elections (divisiveness, stirring up conflict and disputes) are not the same as those that allow you to govern (ability to compromise and bargain).
. . . Republican gains are not driven by popular support for a positive Republican agenda of any kind. Neither are they being driven by an ideological rejection of the administration’s agenda. One can defend or mock the “Pledge to America,” and one can sympathize with or scorn Tea Partiers, but neither of them has much to do with reviving GOP political fortunes.
The reality is that Republican gains this year are the product of immense economic discontent and anxiety to which few conservatives have plausible answers. . . .
And of course if they cannot find those answers, they will face the same criticism before the 2012 election that Democrats are facing now.
