The Editorial Board

USA TODAY

As the Senate Republican majority struggles to coalesce around a replacement for Obamacare, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is using a novel threat to motivate them: Pass something or, horrors, negotiate with the Democrats.

On Capitol Hill, what should be common sense — working together to solve common problems — now exists only as a cudgel to batter lawmakers into passing unpopular legislation. Most rank-and-file Americans don't agree that cooperation is a dirty word. We are, after all, a practical and hardworking people, optimists who solve problems every day and for whom compromise is a natural means of navigating life. For Americans, humility is a virtue and personal responsibility is assumed.

The roots of that outlook go deep here. Alexis de Tocqueville recognized the role of America's history as a commercial empire in shaping our national character nearly 200 years ago. This outlook, he wrote, "takes delight in compromise and studiously avoids irritation. It is patient, insinuating, flexible, and never has recourse to extreme measures until obliged by the most absolute necessity."

Most Americans long for their leaders to recognize the value of different perspectives and experiences in addressing the vexing issues of the day — such as health care. Looked at in the right light, such differences are an opportunity to find a smart fix.

But after recent years of government shutdowns, unreadable last-minute omnibus budgeting and gridlock, it seems we are losing the knack. Perhaps that's a reason why Congress' approval rating remains in the teens or low 20s.

OPPOSING VIEW

Voters don’t want mushy centrism: Jim Hightower

It's not unthinkable that we can find our way back to America's traditional politics of compromise and cooperation. The world's 5th largest economy could be showing a path forward. First-time presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, a self-described "radical centrist" who says he's willing to steal ideas from both the left and the right to solve France's most challenging problems, not only captured the presidency with two-thirds of the votes in a runoff, but also created a political party from scratch 15 months ago that now controls a majority of the parliament.

Macron repudiated a surge of French populism, handily defeating a far-right candidate favored by President Trump as well as the party of warmed-over socialism responsible for so many of France's economic ills. Instead, Macron's appeal was a centrist platform that embraces the European Union, immigration and the active role of government, while favoring free markets and the reform of nanny-state labor protections that hamstring business and fuel high unemployment.

Could muscled, middle-of-the-road pragmatism succeed in the United States?

With America's two-party system so entrenched, a charismatic figure like Macron would have to find footing in one of the two parties. Bill Clinton did it in 1992 with the Democrats. The votes are out there.

Moderate views might have been hollowed out of an increasing partisan Congress in recent decades, but a moderate electorate thrives across the American landscape. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll last month found that one in three Americans describe themselves as moderate. That's a larger group of registered voters than the combined total of those who call themselves "very liberal" (7.3%) and "very conservative" (14.4%).

Other polls have found that same moderate core among African Americans (36%), Latinos (36%), Asians (48%) and Millennials (40%).

Indeed, presidents who have won successive terms have shown a willingness to flirt with the center — Clinton by reforming welfare, George W. Bush with his "compassionate conservatism," and Barack Obama using free-market concepts to expand access to health insurance. Macron embraced the center with vigor, and two-thirds of the electorate responded, eager for a middle course of action.

"Macron proves that that kind of agenda, message and politics can be incredibly powerful and winning," Jonathan Cowan, president of the centrist think tank Third Way, told USA TODAY.

While the Republican majority in Congress and the Trump administration continue to pursue a foolish go-it-alone approach on health care, taxes and the budget, we hope smarter Republicans and Democrats alike will begin to see the opportunity in embracing the more traditional American wisdom of compromise. Working together isn't a threat; it's a lifeline.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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