The Case for Compromise

In case you missed it, a riveting discussion is occurring in response to Brian Schoeneman’s recent post “Time To End Statewide Conventions.” In the comment section, several readers are lamenting the tendency of “establishment Republicans” to compromise with the opposition—an often-heard complaint within the conservative movement today. With all due respect to those possessing a contrary opinion, the problem is not compromise—conservative political icons from James Madison to Ronald Reagan have all made compromises with their opponents—the problem is actually bad compromises.

In any society, decisions about government action will be made one of two ways: war or politics (this includes monarchical regimes where decisions are made by fiat). In our western, liberal democracies, compromise is the basis for the legislative process. Not only do compromises sometimes improve legislation, compromise undergirds the legitimacy of our political system. Unless all parties feel their interests and/or concerns have been heard and addressed, any decision made will lack legitimacy. (Examples of illegitimate legislation include (historical) Britain’s Stamp Act of 1765 and (contemporary) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010). While there are certainly lines our legislators should never cross in the pursuit of comity or legitimacy, we should never be afraid to compromise on issues where strategic compromises can advance the cause of conservatism.

James Madison entered the Constitutional Convention with his Virginia Plan, which would have instituted a unicameral national legislature with representation apportioned by population. To keep the convention, and the dream of a United States of America alive, Madison compromised. Today we have a unified nation and a bicameral national legislature whose system of checks-and-balances is an important firewall defending our liberties. Similarly, in 1789, William Wilberforce proposed a bill that would have abolished the slavery in the British Empire. It was defeated handily, yet rather than accept defeat Wilberforce compromised and promoted a bill that would end the foreign slave trade. Wilberforce’s willingness to embrace a compromise did not mean that he found human bondage to be any less revolting, but instead he made a strategic compromise based on the current political climate. Wilberforce’s decision was vindicated as it helped to alter the political climate, leading to the eventual abolition of slavery by 1834. Had Wilberforce not been willing to make a strategic compromise, he might well have been marginalized as a curmudgeon; today he is regarded as the godfather of Britain’s abolitionist movement.

Similarly, if Republicans compromise with Democrats just to get along, to receive adulation from the media or to receive invitations to Washington’s cocktail parties, their compromises only hurt the cause of conservatism. Conservatism, however, has much to offer our nation and should not be hidden beneath a bushel simply because its purity might be compromised during the legislative process. There will never be a perfect time to advance pure, unadulterated conservatism, therefore if we wait for such a time, conservatism can never advance. Yet, if like Madison and Wilberforce, Republicans make strategic compromises that might exchange short-term setbacks for long-term gains—gains that can favorably alter the cultural and political climate of the nation—or that, by injecting conservative ideas, might make otherwise odious legislation more tolerable, those compromises will be wise strategic moves that conservative Republicans should be proud to support.

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