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Proof of What’s Wrong With Our Politics

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Economy, Politics.
Jul 27th, 2011 | 3 responses

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).

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3 Responses to “Proof of What’s Wrong With Our Politics”

DLS says:

July 27, 2011 at 8:34 pm

Overreaction to Republicans (alone) isn’t merited.

We all know Boehner has a problem. The Senate has said that and more (letter below — like). That doesn’t excuse Dems’ behavior.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/07/27/National-Politics/Graphics/20110727184616990.pdf
ProfElwood says:

July 27, 2011 at 9:38 pm

“If the people in an opposing party hate what you are trying to shove through, then it MUST be good…”

There’s a lot of truth to that. It would be nice to have a little more competition up there.
DLS says:

July 27, 2011 at 9:43 pm

And about Boehner’s problem, here’s one of the more interesting accounts (Joe G., take note). It even manages to blame Reagan (softly and remotely) for the current budget impasse.

One quip now making the rounds is that the Republican Party has moved so far right that even Ronald Reagan couldn’t win his party’s presidential nomination. That claim is not without merit. The debt ceiling deadlock has made it especially clear: Reagan’s actions as President might not have have passed the smell test in today’s Tea Party-driven Republican Party. [...]

But differences aren’t the only part of this story. Reagan isn’t completely estranged from Tea Party Republicans; in fact, the former President and his successors have more in common with one another than we often acknowledge. Republicans of 2011 have absorbed arguably the most destructive features of Reagan’s political legacy. They have taken up his blind allegiance to cutting government spending, sounded his anti-government rhetoric and followed in his deficit-making steps. [...]

And so, the breakdown of the debt talks must be seen both as a Republican rebuke to Reagan and as his revenge: His successors have shown little of his flexibility, but they’ve been busy channeling his anti-government anger and hard-line ideology. Reagan is still a force to be reckoned with.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/07/27/2011-07-27_breakdown_of_debt_talks_can_be_seen_as_republican_rebuke_to_ronald_reagan.html