Comments on: Jimmy Carter Urges Bipartisanship; Uses Giving Away Panama Canal As A Good Example Of What Bipartisanship Can Accomplish

By: ByteMe

ByteMe — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:29:04 +0000

Give him time, they haven’t sworn him in yet.

By: polisavvy

polisavvy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:19:25 +0000

Thanks. I’ll send you a photo.

By: Republican Lady

Republican Lady — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:00:19 +0000

Heyyyyyyyyy! Where is that puppy?

BTW, my email address is republicanlady2010@gmail.com

By: polisavvy

polisavvy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:56:41 +0000

Excellent point, Lady, and touche.

By: Republican Lady

Republican Lady — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:52:46 +0000

Broun probably doesn’t slap police officers who are trying to prevent possible unauthorized entry to people not wearing their required ID in secured areas.

By: ByteMe

ByteMe — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:12:12 +0000

It has always been thus. You think that slaves would have been allowed if not for wanting to get the southern states into the union? Coalitions and consensus building sometimes looks like bribery to the outsider.

By: benevolus

benevolus — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:06:14 +0000

That’s the most extreme federalism I’ve ever heard. We don’t even want Reps-and even Senators!- to represent their own districts/states; everyone should only be concerned with the greater good – as defined by Peach Pundit?

By: Mozart

Mozart — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:54:07 +0000

“Legislating is about building coalitions and concensus”

AND, don’t forget buying that consensus with payoffs and more federal dollars for a district/state (see Landrieu, Mary)

By: ByteMe

ByteMe — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:35:29 +0000

And you’re probably trying to say that he’s not crazy and excessively partisan, right?

#FAIL.

By: Harry

Harry — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:33:17 +0000

I hope you’re not trying to draw an equivalency between them. Unlike Cynthia McKinney, Broun has a professional background as a respected medical doctor and is not an anti-semite.

By: Progressive Dem

Progressive Dem — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:27:02 +0000

We pack congressional districts with like minded people and we end up getting people like Broun and McKinney. Legislating is about building coalitions and concensus. That’s impossible when you elect extremists who can’t work across the aisle.

By: hewhoone

hewhoone — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:19:21 +0000

By: Game Fan

Game Fan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:20:41 +0000

Actually there’s TWO primary reasons that I’m a self-identified Republican. One would be Ronald Reagan of course. The other would be Jimmy Carter.

By: benevolus

benevolus — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:38:56 +0000

I think there are other things that promote gridlock more. Having only two parties is first among them. Whatever one party does, the other has to oppose it or forfeit political advantage. With more parties, coalition building becomes part of the equation.

Also, I don’t think longevity in office is inherently bad for governing.

By: benevolus

benevolus — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:30:03 +0000

I’ve been to France. We could do worse.

By: bird

bird — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:29:06 +0000

I was at this event this morning, and my take away from these statesmen as the reasons for exacerbated partisanship are:

1. Gerrymandering (h/t Balz)
2. No socializing (h/t Balz)
3. Fox/MSNBC/Rush/etc. paying attention to only extreme positions and reinforcing, rather than challenging, beliefs.

By: Ken in Eastman

Ken in Eastman — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:46:55 +0000

I believe the high level of partisanship has to do with a few factors:

1 – People are not operating under a common set of values any longer. Across this country we no longer have a common culture with common heroes and common underlying assumptions about the nature of mankind and the forces of government.

2 – Attack of the Killer Egos. In the age of instant celebrity, egos run as wild as Godzilla in Tokyo after eating a bad burrito. Folks in Washington are quick to believe their own press. Lobbyists and media munchkins reinforce that delusion.

3 – The stakes in Washington are bigger than ever before. As the national government increases in size then the importance of the players increases proportionately. This is yet another reason to reduce our government’s size and scope.

4 . Power tends to corrupt. Absolute powwer corrupts absolutely” – Lord Acton. ’nuff said.

By: B Balz

B Balz — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:36:59 +0000

…but forces you to plan ahead and buy booze on Saturday.

By: Icarus

Icarus — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:28:01 +0000

That’s on my father’s side.

It’s a unique combination. The result is someone who’s too drunk to protest the government cutting my salary.

By: B Balz

B Balz — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:27:19 +0000

Two reasons for political gridlock that may not be apparent:

1.) The reps choose their District. In years past district’s were not gerrymandered by the legislative rep., now they choose their voters. That insures longevity.

2.) The reps travel home to the Districts and do not live in WDC. In years past the reps, and more importantly their families, lived, attended church, school, and entertained in WDC. That meant social interaction and a lot more opportunity for compromise, without ‘giving everything away.’