An opposition party—unable to pass any legislation—is often called a “party of ‘no.’” The party often votes in a block to oppose a bill; the bill still passes and becomes law, but the opposition “party of ‘no’” shows that there is an alternative. If the laws become unpopular, the “party of no” can possibly win elections and gain power.
 
In 2009, the Democrat Party controlled the office of U.S. president and had majorities in both houses of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate). The Republican party—opposing massive “big government” bills such as the fiscal stimulus package, health care and environmental “cap & trade” legislation—became known as the “party of no.”
 
In 1988, Republican president Ronald Reagan called the Democrats the “party of no.” In the 1990s, with Democrat Bill Clinton as president, the Republicans became the “party of no.”
   
   
4 August 1988, San Jose (CA) Mercury News, “Help for schools stalls in the capitol,” pg. 7B:
Nonetheless, George Deukmejian and the Party of No in the state Assembly have, with occasional help from Democratic opportunists like Gray Davis, ...
Worse yet, the leader of the Party of No refuses to take any initiative even on the things that don’t cost money.
     
Google News Archive
15 August 1988, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Reagan: U.S. needs ‘true grit’ of George Bush” by Phil Gailey, pg. 1, col. 4:
NEW ORLEANS—President Reagan, arriving here Sunday on the eve of the Republican National Convention, immediately opened a sharp partisan attack, ridiculing the Democrats as “the party of no” and pledging to use “every ounce of energy and every fiber of my being” to elect George Bush as his successor.
 
11 August 1993, Newsday (Long Island, NY), Viewpoints, pg. 90:
GOP Cannot Just Be the Party of “No”
By Marie Cocco
   
New York (NY) Daily News
GOP MUST SHED ITS ‘PARTY OF NO’ PAST TO SUCCEED
BY STANLEY CROUCH
Thursday, October 28th 1999, 2:11AM
MAYOR Giuliani feels good about Pat Buchanan’s waving goodbye to the GOP. Amen.
   
Washington (DC) Post
‘Party of No’ Works on Getting Voters to Say ‘Yes’
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 19, 2007
RICHMOND Tired of being referred to as the “Party of No,” Virginia Republicans are trying to transform their image into, as GOP officials say, the “Party of Ideas.”
   
Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer
Last updated January 29, 2009 10:39 p.m. PT
Republicans quickly turning into ‘party of no’
By JOEL CONNELLY
P-I COLUMNIST
AS PRESIDENT OBAMA signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, expanding the time frame in which workers can sue for sex or race discrimination, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm took a swing at Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., for backing it.
 
Washington (DC) Post
THE OPPOSITION
GOP Sees Positives In Negative Stand
Leaders Seize On Spending Issue
By Alec MacGillis and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, February 9, 2009
Three months after their Election Day drubbing, Republican leaders see glimmers of rebirth in the party’s liberation from an unpopular president, its selection of its first African American chairman and, most of all, its stand against a stimulus package that they are increasingly confident will provide little economic jolt but will pay off politically for those who oppose it.
(...)
“That ‘no’ vote was a very tentative first move, and it remains to be seen what level of engagement and cooperation they’re going to give the president,” said Joel Johnson, who served as a policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. “It is much easier, when you’re not sure what your strategy is, to revert to a ‘no’ strategy, and that’s what they did.”
(...)
“They’re talking too much about opposing,” Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer said of the House Republicans. “They’re talking too much about voting ‘no’ and not about how they’re going to solve these issues. I’m proud the party took a stand on principles, but I also want to hear about how the Republican Party leaders intend to solve problems.”
   
Reuters
DNC Launches New “Party of No” Clock
Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:09am EDT
Counter Highlights Amount of Time Republicans Have Just Said No Without Offering a Real Alternative to the Obama Budget
WASHINGTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/—The Democratic National Committee today launched a new “Party of No” Clock that highlights the number of days, hours and minutes Republicans in Washington have gone just saying “no” instead of offering a substantive alternative to President Obama’s budget.