Posted By: analyst On: 1/31/2010

Title: Dems are like children

You want bipartisan, but the democrats do not. They are only feigning anything like it due to fears of failing elections coming up. A little late too, they spent all year in a feeding frenzy, ramming and sprinting to a hidden pork-O-rama, gloating is the delusion that they thought success in 08 meant to run rampant over those who didn't vote for them. The only fight democrats have are between each other, the blue hounds and digressive liberal radicals.
The only bribery that took place we know of was not to gain a republican vote, but Louisiana and Nebraska. The mature and prudent way to improve health care is to open up the debate so all of us can examine the issues. Open up interstate competition between all health products, protect the health industry from senseless lawsuits, stop wasting our money on illegal's flooding and almost conspiring to gut the capital of the health systems. Get serious.
The republicans are very serious, the dems have shown little restraint, bipartisanship or leadership until they realize their backs are against the wall. Horrible motives and they are like children. They haste and arrogance has made me terminally angry, I may never trust them again. Obama had his chance to attend many a Republican retreats last year, too arrogant to do so. Now he does? After being slapped in his Massachusetts’s face.
That's the only kind of thing that can get the modern American liberal to reason?

Report Inappropriate Content

Posted By: Morris Zwick On: 1/29/2010

Title: I Do Agree - with a caveat

Certainly the level of partisanship, driven by the extremes of each political party based on the desire to win elections, has driven our government to a standstill. But I actually think that this episode with the health care bill has been very instructive.
The Democrats had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. This seems like a legislative mandate. Yet the bill could not gain support in the Democratic caucus without compromise (fine) and downright buying of votes (horrible). And yet, even then they couldn't get it done because their version would not reconcile with what the House wanted and passed. And then, since elections matter, the political calculus changed with the election in Massachusetts.
The lesson would appear to be fairly obvious. Both sides agree on probably 90% of the proposed reforms. The country would be better off with those reforms being passed on a bipartisan basis. This is the essence of compromise. Instead, extreme views prevailed on both sides, creating a plan that could not be passed in a bipartisan way, and the effort collapsed.
Until the political parties stop being driven by their respective extremes, I fear no bipartisanship will occur on either side (barring national emergency). Party extremists tend to be party contributors as well. And as you point out, money talks. Meanwhile, the Forgotten People (to paraphrase an expression by Sumner), who are average, middle of the road Americans who are just trying to sustain a decent life, are unrepresented and ignored while paying the cost for this behavior.
Is there a solution? I don't see one that is readily apparent. I hope something happens to change the current political calculus or our future is in doubt.

Report Inappropriate Content