On bipartisanship
I'm against it.
Politics should certainly be guided by the Enlightenment principles of empiricism and reason. Elected leaders should exerise a respectful caution against being too sure of themselves, and should remain mindful that good people can have different opinions.
However, all these things should happen within the Democratic Party. Republicans in general, and George W. Bush in particular, are liars who can't be trusted. The bipartisan dream of good people negotiating in good faith, and respectfully agreeing to disagree, is simple impossible. Republicans are not good people and they don't bargain in good faith.
After six years of watching Democrats get suckered, I believe in "bipartisanship" that really isn't. Democrats should have a civilized, respectful, internal debate that produces legislation all Democrats can support. Republicans will do everything in their power to interfere with this process, and the universal response to this should be, "GOP, STFU."
Any Republican who happens to know a good thing when they see it, or doesn't want to be on the losing side of history or whatever, is welcome to save their own hide by selling out their party to vote with us.
When that happens, we congratulate their bipartisanship.
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-- "Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable." (John Kenneth Galbraith)
November 9, 2006 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
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-- "Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable." (John Kenneth Galbraith)
November 9, 2006 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
It used to be that members of Congress had collections of interests, based on the industries in their states and on other issues beyond simple politics. Also, Southern Democrats would shift positions on different issues. The Republicanization of the south combined with the K street project destroyed the comity that use to govern the Senate, and eliminated the possibility of populist conservative democrats.
Add in the Rovian/Norquist notion that bipartisanship is date rape, and you've got a problem in your legislature.
I've been very disappointed in the rubberstamping we've seen from so-called moderate republicans. They're going to find that they've made things very difficult for themselves in the minority.
November 9, 2006 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink