If you pay attention, you’ll realize Trump is undoing LBJ’s complete civil rights package, writes Christina Greer.
This post is part of a three-part series we commissioned earlier this year in which historians examine Donald Trump’s plans to “Make America Great Again” and consider what point in American history President Trump was thinking about when he said “again.”
白宮備忘錄
奧巴馬再難推動影響深遠的立法
2014年04月10日
Keystone/Getty Images
1964年，林登·B·約翰遜總統在白宮東廳簽署《民權法案》期間發表了演講。約翰遜在立法領域的成就之高，令後任總統難以望其項背。
華盛頓——距離和幾位前總統一同前往德克薩斯出席《民權法案》(Civil Rights Act)50周年紀念活動還有兩天，奧巴馬總統在本周二開始了自己對長期不平等現象的抗爭，他的目標是性別導致的經濟差異。
他採取了什麼行動？簽署一份統計承包商薪酬數據的備忘錄，簽署一份行政命令，禁止聯邦承包商對討論工資待遇的僱員施以報復。
雖說光鮮靚麗的白宮東廳慶祝儀式，也許跟拉什莫爾山先輩的
事迹無法比擬，但它的確反映了關乎當下美國總統制之境況的一個更廣泛問題，半個世紀前，林登·B·約翰遜(Lyndon B.
Johnson)總統在美國社會掀起滔天巨變：在今天，一個美國總統還有可能做出如此壯舉嗎？
是好是壞且不論，在推動影響深遠的立法方面，約翰遜實為美
國總統之翹楚，在他推動下獲得通過的不僅有《民權法案》、還有《選舉權法案》(Voting Rights
Act)、聯邦醫療保險法案(Medicare)和與移民、教育、控槍及清潔空氣有關的重要法案。自那之後，還沒有哪位總統取得和他比肩的立法成就，不過
有人辯稱，這是一件好事，原因是政府不應該大包大攬。
然而，奧巴馬和許多民主黨人卻不這麼想。在總統任期的當下
階段，奧巴馬已成為一個象徵，一個讓自由派因其無力推動政府發動變革而感到失望的象徵。共和黨人公開抨擊奧巴馬沒有儘力團結兩黨，一些民主黨人私下裡也對
此多有指責。白宮和許多民主黨人對這種指責嗤之以鼻，他們說，這是蓄意阻撓的共和黨引發的僵局，負責任的應該是他們。
誠然，奧巴馬可以把自己第一任期內的標誌性成就拿出來說
事，其中最顯眼的是他的醫改計劃，這是自約翰遜時代以來，最重大的社會安全福利網絡擴張計劃。他還推動通過了旨在把美國拉出深淵的經濟刺激計劃和旨在避免
另一場經濟危機的華爾街監管規章。不過，這些行動都是在他第一任期內的頭兩年里完成的，當時民主黨還控制着國會，美國還沒有被居高不下的赤字送入財政緊縮
時代。
在他執政的最後六年里，奧巴馬恐怕再也不會有最開始那24個月的成就了。時間一天天過去，這位滿懷遠大志向的總統發現自己在簽署政令和備忘錄，對於完成他為自己描畫的目標幾乎毫無用處。
他在周二簽署行政命令時說，「我要盡到自己的綿薄之力。」
南衛理公會大學(Southern Methodist
University)總統史研究中心主任傑弗瑞·A·恩格爾(Jeffrey A.
Engel)說，奧巴馬的醫改計劃最終也許會被視為是與傳承至今的「偉大社會」(Great Society)綱領和「新政」(New
Deal)相類似的遺產。
不過，他說，現代總統史的現實就是，最好是在情況不斷惡化的第二任期之前推動重大的變革。恩格爾說，「想在最初的執政期過後取得任何重大變革實在是難上加難，因為資金、媒體以及接連不斷的小麻煩會十分迅速而有效地吞噬掉總統前行的動力。」
當內政前景渺茫時，總統們往往會求助於外交政策，他們在這
一領域受到的限制較少，國會的作用也較小。奧巴馬從喬治·W·布殊(George W.
Bush)手中接掌了一個國家安全職責得到強化的總統寶座，他利用這種職責發動了一場聲勢浩大的無人機戰爭，還主持了一項以追捕恐怖分子為目標的大規模監
聽計劃。
不過，他在處理俄羅斯、敘利亞和中東和平進程問題時也一樣
陷入了困境，在全世界面前，他塑造了一個更為克制的美國的形象。如果說他和約翰遜有任何不同的話，那就是他似乎寧可從伊拉克和阿富汗撤軍，也不願讓越南戰
爭這樣的海外困境拖垮自己的總統任期，給自己的國內成就蒙上任何陰影。
自從「偉大社會」綱領實施以來，美國政壇在許多方面都已發
生改變。約翰遜在任時，民主黨在國會中佔據了極大優勢，哪怕在1966年的中期選舉中，民主黨丟掉了47個眾議院席位，他們依然比共和黨多佔有61席。當
時美國面臨著兩黨均自認不得不出手應對的危機。在當年，政治協議的達成需要的是全然不同的方法，「分豬肉項目」那時叫做「專項撥款」
(earmarks)，現在則已被禁止，這類做法雖然更上不得檯面，不過卻更有效。
自約翰遜時代以來，民眾對政府的疑慮加深了。就連奧巴馬推出的最大的立法項目，即醫改法案，也是以幫助未投保的美國人在私人市場中購買醫保為基礎，而不是設立一個由政府運行的、類似於聯邦醫療保險制度的系統，但它依然激起了廣泛的反對。
兩黨在上世紀60年代時，內部的意識形態都相當多元，如今則變得更加同質化。
白宮通訊聯絡主任珍妮弗·帕爾米耶里(Jennifer Palmieri)說，「政治的本質已發生變化。選民們更加兩極化了。我常常想，與50年前相比，國會議員更加關心本黨內那些較為狂熱的派系會做何反應。這是一種實實在在的變化。」
話雖如此，拿奧巴馬和約翰遜做比較，恐怕是最能讓他和他的
團隊惱火的事情之一。他們認為，這種比較既輕率又不公平。兩黨議員普遍認為，奧巴馬應該花更多精力勸誘議員、和他們討價還價，甚至是給他們施壓。儘管約翰
遜靠這些手段取得了成功，但這種設想對白宮橢圓形辦公室依然缺乏說服力。
去年，奧巴馬在接受《紐約客》(The New
Yorker)雜誌採訪時說，「當他失去歷史性的多數席位、壓倒性勝利的光芒逐漸消退後，他也和歷任的大多數總統一樣，在某一時刻遭遇了和國會之間的問
題。我這麼說，不是想說我長袖善舞，而是想提出，我們的政治體制存在某些結構性的、制度性的現實，這些現實和跟不跟人套近乎沒多少關係。」
過去一年，奧巴馬的立法進程幾乎毫無建樹。2013年，在
康涅狄格州紐敦發生校園槍擊案之後，他甚至沒能推動國會通過作用有限的控槍法案。他轉而採取了推行動作更小的行政措施的策略，利用白宮的權威勸說各州和各
家公司推行某些使命，如提高最低工資。但只靠自己的權力，他也依然可以做出一些重大變革，比如他計劃通過環保監管來控制溫室氣體
「他當然希望國會能接手這項法案，表決通過，」帕爾米耶里在奧巴馬於周二簽署薪酬平等行政命令後表示。「這種流程有時讓他相當惱火。不過，他同時也是一個務實的人。」
她還說：「華盛頓不是一切。美國才是，他是美國的領導人。」
翻譯：張薇White House Memo
For Obama Presidency, Johnson Looms Large
April 10, 2014
Keystone/Getty Images
President Lyndon B. Johnson delivering a
speech in the East Room of the White House in 1964 during the signing of
the Civil Rights Act. Johnson enjoyed a level of legislative success
that presidents since have found hard to match.
WASHINGTON — Two days
before joining other presidents in Texas to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, President Obama tackled enduring
inequality himself on Tuesday, in this case economic disparity based on
gender.
His action? Signing a memo
seeking statistics on contractor salaries and an executive order barring
federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss
their pay.
If the photo-friendly
ceremony in the East Room was not exactly the stuff of Mount Rushmore,
it did reflect a broader question about the state of the presidency a
half-century after Lyndon B. Johnson enacted monumental change in
American society: Is it even possible for a president to do big things
anymore?
For better or worse,
Johnson represented the high-water mark for American presidents pushing
through sweeping legislation — not just the Civil Rights Act, but the
Voting Rights Act, Medicare and major measures on immigration,
education, gun control and clean air. No president since has approached
that level of legislative success, although there are people who argue
that is a good thing because government should not be so intrusive.
But Mr. Obama and many
Democrats are not among them. At this stage of his presidency, Mr. Obama
has become a symbol of liberal frustration over his inability to use
government to bring about change. Republicans publicly, and some
Democrats privately, blame Mr. Obama for not doing more to work across
the aisle. The White House and many Democrats scoff at that, laying
stalemate at the feet of what they call an obstructionist Republican
Party.
Certainly, Mr. Obama can
point to landmark actions from his first term, most notably his health
care program, the most significant expansion of the social safety net
since the Johnson era. He also pushed through an economic stimulus
intended to pull the country back from the abyss and Wall Street
regulations intended to avert another crisis. But those actions were
accomplished in his first two years, back when he had a Democratic
Congress and before sky-high deficits brought on an age of austerity.
Mr. Obama now confronts the
likelihood that he may not come close to anything like those first 24
months in his final six years in office. Day in and day out, the
president with the grand aspirations finds himself signing orders and
memos that barely move the needle toward the goals he outlined for
himself.
“I’m going to do my small part,” he said on Tuesday as he signed the executive measures.
Jeffrey A. Engel, director
of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University,
said Mr. Obama’s health program might ultimately be seen as similar to
the lasting legacies of the Great Society or the New Deal.
But the reality of the
modern presidency, he said, is that big things are best done right away
before second terms devolve into an exercise in aggravation. “It’s more
difficult to achieve massive change after that initial mandate because
money and media and constant pinpricks can very effectively take the
wind out of any president’s sails very quickly,” Mr. Engel said.
When domestic prospects
recede, presidents often turn to foreign policy, where they have fewer
constraints and Congress is a bit player. Mr. Obama inherited an
empowered national security presidency from George W. Bush and has used
it to wage a vigorous drone war and preside over an expansive
surveillance program in the pursuit of terrorists.
But he has also had a
difficult time dealing with Russia, Syria and the Middle East peace
process, and has projected a more restrained American role in the world.
If anything, Mr. Obama seems intent on being the anti-Johnson by
withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan rather than letting an
overseas quagmire like Vietnam come to dominate his presidency and
overshadow any domestic accomplishments.
Washington has changed in
many ways since the Great Society. Johnson enjoyed such large Democratic
majorities that even when his party lost 47 House seats in the 1966
midterm elections, Democrats still held 61 more than Republicans. The
country faced crises both parties felt compelled to address. And
political deal making then was different with pork projects called
earmarks that are now banned — seedier, perhaps, but also effective.
Since the Johnson era, the
country has grown more skeptical about government. Even Mr. Obama’s
biggest legislative project, the health care program, was based on
helping uninsured Americans buy coverage in the private market, rather
than setting up a government-run system like Medicare. But it still
stirred widespread opposition.
And the political parties, both ideologically diverse in the 1960s, have grown more homogeneous.
“The nature of politics has
changed,” said Jennifer Palmieri, the White House communications
director. “The electorate is more polarized. I think often members of
Congress are more concerned with how the voter on the more enthusiastic
side of their party is going to react than they would have 50 years ago.
That’s a real change.”
Still, few things irritate
Mr. Obama and his team more than the comparison to Johnson, which they
consider facile and unfair. The notion that Mr. Obama should exert more
energy in cajoling, bargaining and even pressuring lawmakers is a common
assessment on both sides of the aisle, but it remains unpersuasive in
the Oval Office, despite Johnson’s successes.
“When he lost that historic
majority, and the glow of that landslide victory faded, he had the same
problems with Congress that most presidents at one point or another
have,” Mr. Obama told The New Yorker last year. “I say that not to
suggest that I’m a master wheeler-dealer, but rather to suggest that
there are some structural institutional realities to our political
system that don’t have much to do with schmoozing.”
After Mr. Obama experienced
a year of scant legislative progress — he failed to push through even a
modest gun control bill in 2013 after the schoolhouse massacre in
Newtown, Conn. — the president has turned to a strategy of enacting
smaller executive actions and using his bully pulpit to persuade states
and companies to pick up the cause of, say, raising the minimum wage.
And he still has the power to make major changes unilaterally, as he
plans to do through environmental regulations of greenhouse gas
emissions.
“He would prefer that
Congress pick up this legislation and pass it,” Ms. Palmieri said after
Tuesday’s event on pay equity. “It irks him sometimes. But he’s also a
pragmatic guy.”
She added: “Washington’s not the end-all, be-all. It’s the United States of America, and he’s the leader of it.”
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