What Digby Said

...on the folly of bi-partisanship in 2009:

The argument for abolition of the filibuster falls apart when you see that the Dems have the 60 votes and --- it doesn't make any difference. And that's because there is always some pampered little prince or princess who thinks he or she should be running everything and they will hold up the process regardless. That 50th Senator for the vote would be as hard to get as the 60th for the filibuster unless the Democratic party starts to require some partisan loyalty.

In the days when legislation was cobbled together on a bipartisan basis, you didn't want too much discipline or you couldn't get the other side to cross lines when you needed them. But the realignment has solidified the partisan divide on the basis of ideology, philosophy and region. The Republicans have adapted already and understand that their job is to obstruct when in the minority and steam roll when in the majority. The Democrats are still living in the past.

We are a politically polarized country with very different views of how to govern this country. We have regular elections to determine if people are happy with what the majority party is doing. That system will work just fine if only the politicians will enact their agendas and then let the country ratify it or reject it. I don't see what's so wrong with that. It sounds like representative democracy to me.

This fetish for bipartisanship seems more and more like a social construct to allow the ruling class to live happily together. As a citizen, that really isn't my concern. I think we should expect the parties to fight these issues out on the merits rather than live with gridlock and torpor where the only ones who ever prevail are the lobbyists who grease the palms of the politicians of both parties.

This is how our political system works now, it is hyper-partisan and it will always remain as such in the era of instant internet feedback, Dick Armey astroturfing, and a 100% chance of Republican filibusters on everything. Democrats must evolve to combat this on their own terms or forever be at will of the Republican Party no matter who is in the majority.

When just 535 people get to decide where trillions of dollars go each year in this country, there is no such thing as comity, and anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to screw you out of your piece of the action.

This is how our country works. "E pluribus unum" is no longer our motto, it's "I got mine and I'm coming for yours."