Today's Akron Beacon Journal opinion page features David Broder's piece entitled, "Bipartisanship? Gotta have it". It's a typical Broder column where he mind-chases an invisible center in America.
The critics agree that the effort at bipartisanship should end.
I hope Obama isn't listening. It's the worst advice he has received.….had Obama not negotiated successfully with Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter and met most of their terms, his bill would have died. This was a success for bipartisanship, not a failure. Link
David Broder is very Serious and very Experienced inside the Beltway of Washington D.C.
He regards the crossover of three moderate Republican senators from states who voted overwhelmingly for Obama last November as "bipartisanship". The 3 GOP crossover votes came fully equipped with dilution, and thus a weakening, of the Democratic stimulus package, something which Broder sees as a good thing, because after all, bipartisanship to Broder, doesn't have anything to do with what's best for the country.
Of course, every one else outside the Beltway of D.C. understands that Arlen Specter is up for re-election in 2010 and risks losing if he doesn't follow Pennsylvania voters wishes. The two Maine senators, Collins and Snowe, are basically conservative Democrats from a Democratic state.
Those three, often called RINO's, Republican in name only, by the more ridgid Republicans, in voting for Obama's stimulus, weren't acting all bipartisan, like Broder insists. They were saving their own political asses.
Bipartisanship to Republicans, as I posted a couple weeks back, means that the minority gets it's way, if that minority is Republican. Simple as that. Republicans whined and moaned and bitched during the stimulus discussion period, the corporate media were there to copy down every whine, moan and bitch…..and then give unquestioning support to those whines, moans and bitches.
To this day, main media still claims victory for Republicans in remaining in lockstep against Obama's recovery bill. Part of some invisible and untenable Republican comeback. Talk about bias and wishful thinking colliding. And while teevee, print and radio media talks up this "win" for the GOP, they simultaneously call the passage of the stimulus as a loss for Obama, a black eye, a blow to Obama's bipartisanship hopes.
All major polling, naturally, demonstrates that Broder's media darlings are all completely full of sh*t….but they must marshal on….as Broder does in his "bipartisanship" nonsense.
The reason Al Franken's(D-MN) seating is being delayed, the reason Roland Burris(D-IL) is being savaged for what every politician does every minute of the day, is because the seating of Franken and the permanency of Burris gives Senate Democrats 59 seats. One short of being filibuster proof.
As Frank Rich said on the Rachel Maddow show last night……the only way for Obama to move his agenda forward in a time when David Broder style bipartisanship rules….minority gets what they want……is to get 60 or more Democratic Senators. Then, for all intents and purposes, the Republicans can no longer obstruct and defy the will of the American people through threat of filibuster.
What that means going forward is this: Obama will continue to do exactly as he has been doing, extending his hand and ear to Republicans, and pointing to failures to negotiate in good faith as being part of the failed politics of the past. Obama will go to the people when necessary, who, thus far, are resoundingly favorable to his presidency.
Republicans will continue to make noise, shake the dead bones of a dead political party, and obstruct everything they can. Main media will continue to be amazed at the resilience and toughness and potential rebirth of the hopelessly failed political party of Lincoln.
Then in the 2010 election, Republicans will be relegated to hat-rack status, richly earned, and Democrats, by gaining a few more seats in the Senate…Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida, perhaps….will end the threat of Republican obstructionism by filibuster. Obama will then take the country in a more progressive direction, be re-elected in 2012, and render the modern GOP totally insignificant on the national scene.
All of what I just described has nothing to do with bipartisanship. What Americans want is decisive action…..change. Americans don't care if both sides equally get what they want. It isn't all about the political parties, like David Broder so ignorantly suggests. It's about the nation.
Having lost big in two consecutive elections, Republicans are rushing hellbent over the cliff leading up to the 2010 elections. After that election, their irrelevance mission completed, the GOP can either reform itself or become a sad footnote in the history books.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
What media are you watching ? All I hear them talking about is the major victory for Obama in passing the Porkulus bill. The GOP lost, and they better get used to it, because they're going to lose a lot more for awhile.
Roland Burris lied during the impeachment investigation of Blagoevich and you say every politician does that. Well Bill Clinton did lie under oath, so perhaps every Democrat does, except for those who forget to pay their taxes. Why do you even care what the media reports? The majority of the electorate won't care about the 2010 elections until September of next year. By the way it looks like Obama hasn't stopped the illegal war in Pakistan, yet, and wants to expand the war in Afghanistan. It this the change people voted for?
The Pakis have really shown that everyone was right about Barack's wonderful credibility overseas–by releasing the world's foremost nuclear proliferator and turning over portions of their nation to the Taliban.
Yes, the people voted to get out of Iraq and take the fight to al-Qaeda in Afghani-Paki territory.
Obama reduced the number of troops he said he would send to Afghanistan from 30,000 to 17,000. That's what a smart CIC would do….adjust in real time.
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I care what the media reports because main media teevee, radio, and big print press controls the narrative that most Americans absorb. That will change over time….but right now….main media is America's number one problem relative to unity.
I don't care anything about Burris one way or the other. At the same time, Burris told some people he would help fundraise for Blago……standard issue political activity. What the sorry-ass Republicans are doing is the same thing they did to Clinton. It wasn't the sex, it was the lie about the sex…..when it was always about the humiliation/embarrasment over the sex.
In the case of Burris, it's not about what he said about fundraising…..because everyone does that…..it's that he may have been a little less than forthcoming when asked about it while under oath. Same stuff.
It's a political scab the GOP'ers keep open to hurt Obama, because he's from Illinois and it's his former seat, and smear Democrats in general.
And King….Ohio needs them some of that Porkulus.
larry….I didn't see you there…
According to DiFi we're sending drones out of Pakistan….that has to mean something about an existing coordinated effort.
Khan is a national hero in Pakistan, and rightly so. America just doesn't like who is in Khan's rolodex. While I comprehend the potential danger from Khan's activities, knowledge about nuclear stuff will inevitably become world wide. The key to avoiding catastrophe is diplomatic agreements and mutual security plans.
And kill the al-Qaeda top 200.
I'm glad to see your on board with the Afghan surge strategy, Rev.
Tell me, is the left going to call for Obama's head for bombing Pakistan like they called for Bush's for doing it ?
And I don't think the terrorists are interested in diplomatic agreements. I vote for killing them.
Rev, did you see the list of "stimulus" projects for Akron ? One unnecessary thing after another. Mostly just throwing money down a hole. It's very sad.
Unless they built that airfield in the last three weeks I'd have to say Bush was the one leading a coordinated effort with the Pakis. The dems big contribution was blowing it all by revealing the airbase.
Of course I feel silly noting how you say its okay the Great Proliferator is out because everyone's going to be able to build nuclear weapons at some point, because the rationale is so ludicrous.
Haven't seen the projects for Akron yet, King….but I bet they'll require workers.
Of course nuclear proliferation can be dangerous, larry. I mean, look what we did with the knowledge right out of the gate. And just think, we're the ONLY ones who ever used nuclear weapons.
But that was some 60 years ago. Knowledge travels at the speed of light now. It's simply a matter of time. Making a huge deal out of Khan being let off house arrest, I think, is hyperventilation. Many opportunities present themselves to nuclear disaster….not just one guy who knows how all the parts fit together.
Way to take a hard, freedom-lovin stand against Al-Qaeda, Reverend!
I think it's a good idea to go after the top 200 also, seeing as how Bush already killed most of the top 100.
Oh, and what's with railing against mainstream media? Didn't seem to bother you too much when they were openly weeping over Obama.
Obama's two areas of accomplishment as a senator were supposed to be his work in ethics reform and nuclear proliferation.
Boy oh boy we are in trouble!
1420…your information about the top 100 al-Qaeda being killed comes from what source? Corroborated? And Bin Laden, and Zawahiri, I'm certain, are not in that number.
I have railed against corporate media for a number of years. I assume you are assuming that the media is hopelessly in love with President Obama. If that were the case….why did the corporate media interpret the stimulus win by Obama as a loss….and a win for the GOP? Why would a corporate media in love with Obama continue to run Rush Limbaugh criticisms, nightly, on their networks? Why the hand wringing and the moaning that Obama failed at bipartisanship?
I mean, if the media were actually biased towards, you know, Obama?
larry….Obama radically changed ethics rules. You can choose to acept that reality or your own. He's been in office 4+ weeks and he's confronting the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation head on. Let's review it after a few more months.
I disagree with Obama over sending anymore troops into Afghanistan. I want us to kill as many of the nuts in the northwest region as possible….and then get out. We don't need 17,000 new troops to do that. My opinion.
He's been in office 4+ weeks and already set records for the number of corrupt nominees.
Oh, please.
Perhaps, larry, your own record is pristine…..but I don't think it's all that surprising for someone, anyone, to have had trouble or diputes with the IRS. I know I've had a couple.
Of course you have, Reverend. You're as lefty as they come!