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On the front of Politico is an article about how the big bipartisan deals that used to be relatively common in Congress now appear to be a thing of the past. From Politico:
Call it the Split the Difference Scenario — a dream of Washington at its civic-minded best that has flourished for decades, even as the reality of Washington became ever more snarling and contentious.
Sometimes, the dream even came true, in iconic closed-door moments: a bipartisan bargain over Social Security in 1983, a high-drama budget summit at Andrews Air Force Base in 1990, a landmark spending accord between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich in 1997.
The striking fact about Washington at the start of 2012 is how many people, in public and private, say they have concluded that the capital is no longer a city of splittable differences.
I’m personally more than happy to see that so called “grand” bipartisan deals are dead and that the American political system is finally coming to the conclusion that it will need to adjust to this new reality.
At their core these bipartisan deals were and are about destroying basic democratic accountability. When you have only two viable parties, and they both agree on some big proposal, it makes impossible to hold anyone accountable or punish the offending parties in the next election. Since they both are equally to blame, then no one is to blame.
The idea that bipartisanship is some inherent good valued above all else has only encouraged American politicians to become extreme liars. They know they can promise things they never intend to deliver on, because they can always place the blame on the need for bipartisan consensus dicatated by the silly Senate rules. The fact that there is still some argument about whether Obama really did or did not sell out the public option shows how perfectly this “need for bipartisan consensus” scheme hides even the most basic facts from voters.
There is nothing wrong with a party running on its platform, then implementing that platform if elected. If people don’t like the result, they can vote for a new party with a different platform and expect it to be implemented. This is how most democracies work.
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So true. If only, things would be much better.
No, they’re still doing the whole bipartisanship. Both branches of the Corporatist party serve the 1% (Congress is made up of them and those who want to become 1%er) at the expense of the 99%.
Well, technically, Republic. In any case, there’s not much for ordinary people in the current system, but Ian Welsh places the blame also on ordinary voters and I do agree with him. http://www.ianwelsh.net/yes-the-american-people-are-responsible/
Welsh’s blog is very interesting, I recommend it. http://www.ianwelsh.net/
Yes, the death of the bipartisan go along to get along may be the new reality.
So going forward the filibuster gets gelded, fewer deals are struck behind the scenes, there is less willingness to bundle priorities on either side. So be it.
In the end it will mean big ideological swings in elections, when American voters find out they really can’t have the cake and eat it too. Throw a fit, vote, then move on to the next cycle.
Welsh used to blog here.
Righto. Blame the victim. That’s tactic #18 (or whatever # it is) for PTB to maintain power.
Read Zinn.
The vast majority of legislation passed since Clinton took office has been written into law based on how much money corporations and individuals like the Kochroach brothers paid into campaign coffers to have legislation become law. Yes, there was some legislation that benefited the common good of the American people but it is far outshadowed by legislation that benefited the capitalist class, the great American aristocracy.
“The people get the government they deserve.” Will Rogers
The committee system bears as much blame as the bipartisan BS. Easier to bribe/control one or two “leaders” from each party than the whole Congress. They only vote on what comes out of committee.
Hey bud, Democrats had an unfettered two years.
Now we’ll just have to undo everything Pelosi banged through. Not to worry though, we’ll just pass the repeals and learn about what’s in them later.
http://www.newdeal20.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/bwpaper_ferguson_040811.pdf
Another very interesting read. Every Congress gets to set its rules for process. The rules of pay to play haven’t been seriously challenged.
“….or punish the offending parties in the next election. “
We have developed a system that rewards failure. Party a screws something up. The citizens go out and vote for Party B in the next election cycle. Party B can’t fix things quickly enough to satisfy the electorate so they vote Party A back into office.
Party A then gets to perpetuate their initial failure. And so it goes.
Bull’s eye: in a “two-party” system, bipartisanship = unaccountability.
Equally bad, it serves as a smokescreen for 1% rule. Witness Mr. Obama’s derailment of progressive change and hope in the name of bipartisanship.
“Bert launches the bipartisan party”…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33388783@N08/6792172221/
Free from the bullshit of “bipartisanship” promoted by the clown in the WH. He really sees/saw himself as being the first post partisan politician, above it all. What a pompous ass.
Any chance the republic had for broad representation — which was always slim — evaporated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sic transit gloria.
Any bets as to how soon after the election Mr I Never Saw A Compromise I Couldn’t Make is back inaction, or action, as the case may be.
Arbusto,
Nice play on words.
Kinda like John Stewarts book, America, A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction.
When did malignant greed take over the world? Or has it ever been thus? Seems to me I remember when human action had at least a few other possible sources. But maybe I was naive.
It’s always been a function of the amount of the payoff. 10,000 years ago, it might have been only three war clubs that did the trick. Today, it only takes an MSM job for a Harvard clown like Yglesias. When millions, much less, billions of dollars are involved, all humans hit their knees.
Mankind has been selling out from the beginning. The only thing in question is the price.
Wow. Just wow.
Wait a minute. I have this picture in my mind. An old film clip. This guy is sitting in his living room with his wife and children and dog. It’s Jonas Salk. An interviewer says to him, Dr. Salk, will you patent your new vaccine and make a shit load of dough? And Salk says, no. I won’t patent it, I developed this vaccine for the good og humanity.
(Quotes not exact.)
Where are the Jonas Salks of yesteryear?
I remember Asian researchers came to the US in the 1980′s to get away from the consensus ideals required in Asia. It simply did not encourage outstanding and revolutionary research.
I believe that compromise also prevent optimum solutions required in today’s world. It may very well be the death of democracy.
We have to find a way to get all parties to see the optimum solution. There is no room for partisan politics or backwoods religious voodoo.
Yes you’re right. I am just scratching my head though because neither party has a platform or a leg even to stand on. What do I mean? I mean that neither side of the isle has a list of priorities that absolutely have to happen right now, if we are to survive as a species. The human species. We are on the verge of being obliterated, deliberately, by the oligarchs. They have taken money out of circulation, taken away our jobs and our homes, and they have created an imminent food shortage which will lead to millions dying of starvation HERE IN THE US. On top of that they have passed health laws that resemble to a tee the T4 health program of Adolph Hitler, and you know how murderous that became. On top of that we were almost hit again by a large object hurtling through space towards our planet last Friday, the second time in a month, and the sun keeps emitting flares that are humunous, with two of them hitting our atmosphere, which has caused earthquakes and goodness knows what next is in store for us from the Galaxy. So be glad all you want, then realise that Congress and the Administration are like the dinosaurs…………they can’t adapt to what is going on and they are going extinct. The question is, do you want to go extinct with them? If the answer is no, then I suggest you take urgent steps to address the situation. If you need any help to get started why not try logging onto larouchepac.com and see what ideas they have to offer. Time is of the essence.
I don’t think it will turn out that way even if Romney were to win, GOP House and Senate as well. That’s beginning to look unlikely as an entire package. But, for the sake of argument…
All GOPers nominally “hate” ObamaCare, ACA, or whatever it’s to be called. For now it’s a lever for GOP votes in Nov. For some the bile is sincere, for others it’s convenient. All of them get to use it for now.
Most of the GOP PTB want healthcare reform including a mandate of sorts. I think Romney will appear to hue to his promise to promote outright repeal and then “discover” he can’t, exactly. There will be prearranged reasons, and Romney will claim he’s off the hook and did the best he could. He’s conscientious, no?
The ACA mandate might still be axed, whether by SCOTUS this summer or Romney’s hand next year, and replaced by a Federal “invitation” to each state to develop and apply its own mandate like Mass did. It would be Constitutional, no force applied there, only subsidy money from DC or the withholding of such.
The result would carry us even further away from any prospect of a public option, which is what’s needed. All the rest of these schemes stink.