Bi-partisanship/post-partisanship. Republicans not getting it? Here's why:
Imagine you hire a law firm, or a lobbyists, or PR firm to get a certain result for you. Okay, say it's a PR firm and in six months time you want the Moose Queen's popularity to be higher, as measured by polling.
So they've got their task. However they go about it, put the nitwit on TV, magazine articles, she receives bogus awards, whatever combination, it is the *result* that you are looking for.
In six months, either her popularity is higher or you, as the payor, expect to know why. What you *don't* expect is that after three months, they come back to and suggest they have a different idea - maybe her popularity doesn't really need to be higher and task isn't so good, now that they think of it.
So it is with Republicans. The rich fund them, and the Republicans' task is to reduce taxes for the rich. The rich don't expect to provide funding only to have them come back and say the task maybe isn't so good and maybe the rich can pay more taxes. Just like you'd find another PR firm if the one didn't satisfy, so the rich will find another Republican to run in the next primary. Thus, Boehner and his pals need a jolly good explanation if they didn't get those taxes reduced. "We unanimously opposed the stimulus plan" is a good start, though. That way they can go back to the rich and say, "See? The problem isn't with us, the problem is that you need to get more of us elected."
So when we look into Boehner's smirking eyes, this is what we are facing. He is not taking the stimulus plan remotely seriously, he is thinking only about how he is going to answer to those behind him. He needs a good story to tell them. Accordingly, he isn't about to "get it," not now and not ever, unless he changes his livelihood.
