No, I have not been kidnapped, in a coma, or otherwise put out of your misery. But my "day job" seems to be recession-driven. I have, however, had it with the current noodle-spined majority leadership. I have the following questions for the Democrats:
How can anything be "bipartisan," when one of the partisans insists that it’s all or nothing?
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has defined a "bipartisan" health care bill to mean "no public option." Hmmmm - no public option, which certainly also rules out "single payer." That equals..... WHAT WE HAVE NOW! So Sen. Grassley is saying "We, the minority party, get everything that we want, or we won’t even consider it." Not only is that not bipartisan, it’s not "reform." (And from their behavior during the stimulus bill debate, we’ve learned that even if they DO get what they want, they still won’t vote for it.)
The "bi" in "bipartisan" means "having two parts." The GOP’s insistence that any health care bill lack a public option takes the "bi" out of "bipartisan." The GOP does, however, have a handle on the concept of "bi" as in "bipolar." Their argument against the public option has a split personality: 1) The public option will be awful because the government can’t run anything right. 2) The public option will be so good, it will drive private insurance out of business. I won’t even get into all the things the GOP thinks the government does right (the military, and reading our private email, for starters), or the completely anti-free-market premise they are endorsing in wanting to protect the private insurance companies. The contradictory nature of these two talking points alone is enough to give you whiplash (treatment of which will cost you a $20 co-pay).
There is nothing bipartisan in the minority’s demands that they will get what they want, or they will take their toys and go home, but it is sooooo very GOP. Today, Sarah Palin resigned as Alaskan governor, because she could not put up with being a lame duck. Well, there’s public service for you! There’s bipartisanship! There’s maturity! That is, if you consider "maturity" to be one step above holding your breath until you get your way.
So grow a spine, Harry. Break some heads, Nancy. You were not put in the majority to assure that we continue steering toward the same cliff the GOP leaders have had their eyes on for the past eight years. Do what the American people put you there to do. And don’t do such a "bipartisan" job of it, that it ends up being ineffective and maybe even harmful. Just do it, and do it right! Yes, you run the risk of going down in flames. But the "bipartisan" course you are currently plotting all but guarantees that same self-immolation.
So grow a spine, Harry. Break some heads, Nancy. You were not put in the majority to assure that we continue steering toward the same cliff the GOP leaders have had their eyes on for the past eight years. Do what the American people put you there to do. And don’t do such a "bipartisan" job of it, that it ends up being ineffective and maybe even harmful. Just do it, and do it right! Yes, you run the risk of going down in flames. But the "bipartisan" course you are currently plotting all but guarantees that same self-immolation.
