Bi-Partisan

8 Random Items for 2/13/2009 #6

Both issues are part of an emerging GOP case against Obama and the ruling Democratic Party: Strip away the new face, the lofty rhetoric and the promises of post-partisanship and you’ll find the same big-spending party of old, bent on politicizing government to consolidate its hold on power.

Even with the stimulus package on the verge of passing later this week, the unanimous GOP vote against the bill in the House and the near-unanimous opposition in the Senate revealed a Republican Party surprisingly united in direction and in message for perhaps the first time since losing its congressional majority in 2006.

Yes, the Republican party is united in their opposition to anything proposed by President Obama, to the surprise of no one. Of course, it's the Democrats who are not sufficiently bi-partisan, right? Any member of the press who is told by a Republican that the President, or that the Democrats in general are too partisan should laugh in their face. Will they? No. The press is so cowed at this point that they'll never call them on the BS.

For the record, Politico may get the occasional scoop, but they engage in more wankery per word than any news site even slightly to the left of Fox.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for 2/10/2009 #8

Washington seems consumed in the process argument of bipartisanship, when the rest of the country says they need this bill.

- Speaker Nancy Pelosi on bi-partisanship and its effect on the stimulus package.

In other words, Republican opinions are making the already imperfect and too small bill worse, not better.

John Cole says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for 2/10/2009 #4

I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.

- John Cole from "You'll Never Get This 21 Minutes of Your Life Back"

I love a good analogy, and this is better than just about any I've read.

DougJ says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for 2/10/2009 #2

I think that Obama is smart to jerk off the Villagers with all this (bulls**t) about bipartisanship. And in the Senate, there are Republicans who will cross over to vote with Democrats (and break filibusters). But, honestly, who gives a (f***) what Michelle Bachman and Jack Kingston and Tom Tancredo think about anything? Screw ‘em is right.

- DougJ of Balloon Juice shares his thoughts on bi-partisanship.

A Bi-Partisan Cabinet

8 Commentaries for 2/4/2009 #4

What do I think of Obama having three Republicans in his cabinet? I think it's three Republicans too many.

Chris Bowers says ... Again

Words of Wisdom for 1/28/2009 #8

So, Republicans are actually going to be useful in this Congress, by solving the bipartisan problem we face all on their own. They are not going to succeed in stopping Democratic legislation, they are not going to support it, and they are not going to be quiet in their opposition. Problem solved. Now, we just have to make sure that the legislation we pass is actually going to dig us out of the myriad crises we face. We will continue to govern as long as we are making the lives of the majority of Americans better.

- Chris Bowers in a post titled "Republicans Will Solve The Bipartisanship Problem"

Joe Conason says ...

Words of Wisdom for 1/28/2009 #5

To listen to the Senate Republicans and their leader, Mitch McConnell, is to hear once more the old nostrums of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, along with pleas for “bipartisan input” and complaints about “wasteful spending.” The House Republicans chime in with the same drearily familiar themes, as the minority leader, John Boehner, warns against “irresponsible spending on government programs” and urges the new administration to put any stimulus bill online for “at least one week” while making sure there are no “special-interest earmarks.”

Leaving aside the boilerplate rhetoric about wasteful federal spending—which never troubled the Republicans on either side of Capitol Hill when they were legislating record deficits—these recommendations seem harmless enough. Putting the stimulus bill online for public comment sounds like something Mr. Obama might want to do. He scarcely needs advice about communicating with the public from the other party. Abolishing earmarks was the dominant economic theme of the Republican campaign last fall, which was soundly rejected by voters. Awful as certain porky earmarks may be, they represent a miniscule portion of the federal budget—and they remain just as irrelevant to the global economic crisis as they were three months ago.

So is that all? Reviewing the recent comments of Mr. McConnell and Mr. Boehner, it is impossible to find much substance that actually addresses the problems of rising unemployment, falling demand, shrinking production and disappearing credit. There is no fresh policy platform and no honest effort to confront the costs of deregulation and disinvestment.

- Joe Conason in an article titled "The Stimulus Killers"

Atrios says ...

Words of Wisdom for 1/28/2009 #1

The Republicans should lay out a competing vision, which won't pass because they aren't in charge. Then, 2 and 4 years from now voters can judge the results and if they aren't pretty they'll know who to blame and decide that the competing vision would have been a better one.

With bipartisanship you'll not only get a compromise that sucks, when it's time to throw the bums out no one will be quite sure which party should be blamed.

- Atrios from a post entitled "Bipartisanship Sucks"

Note to Democrats

8 Random Items for 1/8/2009 #5

Moderate Republicans are not your friends. This includes Arlen Specter, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Do not court their approval. Force them to side with you. Tell them if you don't, you will have George Soros personally finance millions of dollars in attack ads against them in their home states. On every issue they don't go along with you, have every Democratic mouth piece in the country blame them in the press. Hold their feet to the fire. Make them run scared. Make them fear their next reelection bid.

Besides, if they were true moderates, they would have left the Republican party a long time ago. Bi-partisianship is for suckers and losers.