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What the Newbies Understand

Posted by PETE ABEL, Managing Editor in Politics.
Apr 14th, 2009 | Comments

From Politico this morning:

A small group of freshman Democrats think they’ve found a simple but effective way to signal to their constituents that they aren’t part of the problem in Washington: frequently reaching across the aisle to co-sponsor bills with Republicans.

Nate Silver suggested yesterday that, for Obama, bipartisanship is “a process rather than an outcome.” Apparently, for this new generation of members of Congress, it’s both.

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Ryan

Does the bill really count if it doesn't pass?

Pete Abel

Ryan -- Good question and one I thought about after I published this post. Ultimately, I decided to stick with the original assertion because I consider an "outcome," in this case, to be either "co-sponsorship" or passage, i.e., something that goes a step beyond cross-aisle discussion, that involves a tangible, cross-aisle action.

CStanley

I think Ryan asks the right question. The bipartisan spirit is good as far as it goes, but at some point those conservative Dem freshmen will have to tell Madam Speaker that their constituents want more than just lip service paid to the platforms they ran on.

GreenDreams

Meanwhile Republicans continue to obstruct all legislation. I am aghast that filibuster has become such a bludgeon that it now takes a "super majority" of 60 votes to get anything done. Screw "bipartisanship." It is the GOP that has never given it anything but lip service.

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