Wednesday, January 20, 2010

We Are Gonna Hold Hands!



Yet again:

President Obama plans to create a bipartisan commission to make recommendations to Congress on ways to reduce the federal budget deficit under an agreement reached Tuesday night at the White House.

The agreement is tentative, pending consultations between Congressional leaders and some House and Senate lawmakers. Some details remained in flux.

But according to people familiar with the deal, in principle it commits Democrats to work with Republicans to do what they have not been able to do for a decade through the regular process: compromise on spending cuts and tax increases to produce reductions in annual deficits that, under George W. Bush and now Mr. Obama, have reached the highest levels since World War II.

Note that odd phrasing: "to do what they have not been able to do." Who is the "they" in the sentence? I read it as the Democrats. But what about the Republicans and their total lack of bipartisanship?

I have absolutely nothing against real bipartisanship, but that does not consist of Republicans refusing to vote for the HCR proposal they managed to influence so as to make it into a soup with just a few good bits of meat. Honest, bipartisanship is like any other relationship. If your needs don't get met at all and if your partner always abuses you, what should you do?

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Added: More comity.