海角大神

The Senate鈥檚 surprise passage yesterday of a聽comprehensive criminal justice reform package聽serves as both heartening evidence that bipartisanship can still prevail in Congress 鈥� and a reminder of just how hard it is to get there.聽

Given that the bill passed with 87 (out of 100) votes, in some ways what鈥檚 most amazing is that its fate had been so uncertain. That鈥檚 because Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell 鈥� apparently responding to the concerns of a small but powerful group of conservatives 鈥� had resisted bringing it to the floor for a vote.

As the Washington Post鈥檚 Jennifer Rubin聽聽: 鈥淚magine if both the Senate and House Republican leadership over the past couple of years put on the floor legislation that a bipartisan majority, a strong bipartisan majority at that, supported. We鈥檇 have had immigration reform back in 2013鈥�. We鈥檇 have a bipartisan health-care fix鈥�. We鈥檇 probably have had an infrastructure bill as well and small steps on gun safety.鈥�

The major impediment to bipartisan action, she concludes, isn鈥檛 鈥減olarization per se鈥� 鈥� but leadership that has allowed the polarized extremes to control the process.

In this case, support for the bill was broad enough to overcome the hurdles. Crucially, it had strong backers from both ends of the political spectrum 鈥� including the ACLU and the Koch brothers. Fox News鈥檚 Sean Hannity supported it. (So did聽) Most crucially, it had the聽.

Indeed, Mr. Trump鈥檚 role may well have made the difference here. And in many ways, that makes this bill a stark reminder of missed opportunities not just for Congress, but for the president 鈥� a glimpse of 鈥渨hat the Trump presidency might have been,鈥� as Vanity Fair鈥檚 Eric Lutz聽聽. 鈥淥n the campaign trail, the would-be president promised to work across party lines on issues that would benefit all Americans,鈥� he writes. 鈥淏ut by and large, broadly popular bills that would have scrambled partisan lines and might have guaranteed a second term have not been this president鈥檚 purview.鈥�

A quick programming note: The Politics newsletter will be on vacation for the next two weeks. As we approach the end of 2018, we thought we鈥檇 leave you with a list of our top five politics stories from the past year:聽

1. A system under strain: Is US democracy showing real cracks?
2. A life that is worthy: In Plains, Ga., an evangelical politician like no other
3. How young liberals' moves to Red America may temper political divides
4. Why Woodward book poses real challenge to White House
5. What Kavanaugh case means for 'innocent until proven guilty'

Wishing you a holiday season filled with peace and joy. And as always, let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at csmonitor@cspolitics.com.