Here is a fine upstanding citizen from Ohio writing to the NYTimes about "The Perils of Bipartisanship". (Mildly truncated. Emphasis mine.)
It should now be clear that, for all its facile appeal, bipartisanship is a mistake for at least three reasons.I couldn't have said it better myself. And I would have rambled for three times as long to make the same point.First, it assumes a willing partner, and the Republicans have made it clear that their goal is to rapidly derail this presidency rather than help build a new spirit of bipartisanship.
Second, it assumes that the solutions to the nation’s ills lie somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum — between the two parties — whereas the reality is that our most pressing problems, from providing universal health care and sensible economic regulation, to environmental protection and labor law reform, all require more radical solutions, not weak compromises.
Third, bipartisanship of this kind undermines democracy because it thwarts the will of the people. Republican ideas and political practices were decisively rejected at the polls last November; they should not reappear through the back door.
I voted for Barack Obama and his policy agenda. I thought we won.
Let’s see it enacted.
Chris Howell
Oberlin, Ohio
Richard Cohen of the Washington Post has this to say about partisanship. He's sort of sticking up for Republicans. I usually think the guy's a douche but every now and then I agree with him. This is one of those days.
These Republicans are as wrong as wrong can be, and history, I am sure, will mock them, but they were not elected by history, and they are impervious to mockery from the likes of me. They come from conservative districts, and they are voting as their people want them to. That's partisanship. It is also democracy.
The desire to think that political differences are manufactured and can be sweet-smiled into consensus is touching but unrealistic.
