Clinton needs to work with the GOP if she wins. Here’s how she can do it.

If Hillary Clinton becomes the 45th president, as now appears nearly certain, she will have a choice.

She can emulate her husband and his successor, George W. Bush, in working with Congress to achieve real bipartisan successes. Their scorecard of accomplishments includes welfare reform, major trade deals, the Medicare pharmaceutical benefit, family and medical leave, investment-focused tax reform, and global health programs that saved millions of lives.

{mosads}Or she can follow Barack Obama, who pushed through his health insurance plan without a single Republican vote, then opted to go it nearly alone against a hostile Congress.

Clinton has shown in the Senate and the State Department that she can work with Republicans. And she will be elected with the support of many current and former GOP officeholders and longtime Republican business leaders and donors. She doesn’t exactly owe them, but — unlike in the Obama administration — cross-party lines of communication will be wide open.

Assuming that Republicans hold onto at least one house of Congress, what would a bipartisan agenda look like? Here are four areas where Clinton and Republicans can cooperate.

1.     Immigration reform. Clinton should do this first, to clear the decks and drive another nail in the coffin of Trumpism. Vast and rising majorities of Americans want undocumented immigrants to be allowed to stay here. A CBS/New York Times poll last month found that only 21 percent of registered voters say those in the country illegally should be forced to leave the U.S., while 62 percent favor a path to citizenship and another 12 percent want them to stay but not be allowed to become citizens. An acceptable blueprint for reform is no mystery: we need more border security (though a large majority opposes a wall along the entire Mexican border), a requirement that immigrants learn English, stricter enforcement at businesses, a temporary worker program, and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that would probably include a financial penalty.

2.     Foreign policy and national security. Clinton’s own views, as opposed to those of Obama and Trump, fit the bipartisan consensus that has dominated U.S. policy since the end of World War II. If she reasserts a doctrine of stability abroad through vigorous U.S. leadership of alliances like NATO, she’ll find support from most Republicans. The former secretary of State should look for opportunities early to break with Obama and demonstrate that the U.S. is no longer “leading from behind,” that we will once more support global freedom and human rights and, as her campaign website puts it, “stand up to Vladimir Putin.” Republicans are already working to revamp our anemic public diplomacy and information-dissemination efforts, which are key to fighting terrorism. Clinton has a major interest here as well and can make common cause. 

3.     Cybersecurity and terrorism. Mainstream Republicans and Democrats have the same instincts when it comes to homeland security. What’s lacking is a clear doctrine that determines when we will retaliate against cyberattacks and how we will balance privacy and protection against potential terrorism — a good example is the matter of forcing Apple to come up with software to unlock the cellphone used in last year’s San Bernardino terrorist attack. These are tough issues, and they require the White House and Congress to get together in some formal way — perhaps, though I hate to say it, a commission.

4.     Global health. Clinton has been a strong supporter of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Program For AIDS Relief), the largest effort by any country in history to fight disease abroad. The program, with overwhelming bipartisan backing, has not only saved millions of lives it has also improved America’s standing in Africa and our national security. Our efforts to battle malaria have contributed to a 60 percent decline in deaths since 2000. We now have a cure for Hepatitis C, and cervical cancer can be cheaply diagnosed and treated. Clinton can win the support of most Republicans in Congress if she harnesses American exceptionalism to fight such diseases, especially in strategic nations like Pakistan, Indonesia and Egypt. 

These are only a few examples of how Hillary Clinton could work with Republicans in Congress. There are many more: infrastructure investment, criminal justice reform, reducing the burden of higher education costs, perhaps cutting the corporate tax rate in a trade for Clinton’s proposed 4 percent surtax on personal incomes over $5 million, and, yes, even an Asian and European trade deal. Polls consistently show that Americans want the parties to work together. This nasty election, ironically enough, provides a chance for that actually to happen.

James K. Glassman, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, served as undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy under former President George W. Bush. He is a volunteer with R4C16, Republicans supporting Hillary Clinton.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.