Here’s proof of what’s wrong with the politics — part of the stench that many Americans and particularly independent voters are smelling more and more. Here’s Speaker of the House John Boehner explaining why his debt ceiling plan is a good one:
But Boehner said he couldn’t understand why any Republicans would position themselves with Democrats opposing his plan.
“Barack Obama hates it, Harry Reid hates it, Nancy Pelosi hates it,” he said, naming off the Democratic leadership.
There you have it.
And what better example of why “compromise” — long a value that politicians of both parties practiced with skill because it was what helped make American policy for centuries is on the ropes?
If the people in an opposing party hate what you are trying to shove through, then it MUST be good and if you have the votes to shove it through that’s what politics is all about (except in the past consensus was something considered a little bit adviseable: it helps with governance).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.