Bi-Partisanship’s awesome accomplishments
Chris Caldwell, editor of the Weekly Standard (someone who I typically would not quote) had a thought provoking article in the Financial Times Weekend edition. In this, he outlines the problems in Washington, that Democrats and Republicans are split into two camps, summarizing neatly:
“For three decades, centrism has been a declining force in American life. Arguments over the sustainability of the postwar welfare state have split politicians into two camps – one keen on consolidating government programmes, the other keen on dismantling them. There is not much room for negotiation here.”
This is a pretty good point that many Liberals cannot seem to grasp. Although the author above wants to dismantle the post war welfare state, at least he makes no apologies for what he believes. The Republican Party is not a responsible partner in creating new government policy; Republicans want to destroy government. They want to dismantle the welfare state, and privatize social security, medicare, and all government services. There is a range as to how fast the programs should be dismantled, but there is now doubt among their caucus: their first priority is to destroy and privatize the government.
There is not much room for negotiation there. And the record of Bipartisanship of the past 8 years not stellar either. As Caldwell points out, the main accomplishments of the Bi-Partisanship of the past 8 years are the following: No Child Left Behind, the Iraq War, and the TARP Bank Bailout, all of which are terribly unpopular with the general population. One that Caldwell leaves out is the appointment of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, which directly led to the Citizens United election privatization of 2010. The public disapproves of this by up to 80% in a recent poll.
Bipartisanship has lead to terrible policies, but more so, bipartisanship only appears to lead to Republican Policies. Working together means doing what the Republicans want: dismantle the government, except for the Pentagon, which needs to find reasons to exist and get more funding. Not working together means providing healthcare to citizens, protecting social security, and any number of other government programs.
Its time to get past the bipartisan lie, and start to accomplish something for the base on which President Obama was elected from. It is time to use the power of the government to protect the citizens, and provide them with services, reigning in private power. If this is being Partisan, then so be it.