"...is the real problem afflicting our political system a lack of so-called "bipartisanship" or is it actually too much bipartisanship?
I ask this question honestly, because it seems to me that congressional Democrats believe that, above all, their mandate is to be more "bipartisan" ... Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said, "The American people voted for a new direction to restore stability and bipartisanship to Washington, D.C."
I'll admit, that feels soothing for a few minutes. Yes, yes, wouldn't we all like to go back to that era that actually never occurred to frolick happily through the fields of bipartisanship that never existed. But ... only a fool whose brain has rotted from Potomac Fever would actually believe that a country under severe economic distress in a neverending quagmire in Iraq walked into the ballot box and voted primarily on a desire to see Mitch McConnell hug Harry Reid...
Sometimes its just easier to pretend that life is a cartoonish struggle between Blue and Red, with Blue always being Moral and Just, and Red always being Evil...
I hope when Pelosi and other Democrats talk about "bipartisanship" they understand the real partisan divide in Washington, and will use their power to build coalitions of Republicans and Democrats to push the People Party's agenda. Because doing the opposite - solidifying coalitions of Republicans and Democrats to continue pushing the Money Party's agenda - is not the "bipartisanship" this country wants or deserves.
To paraphrase Barry Goldwater, I would remind progressives that partisanship in the defense of regular people is no vice, and Washington's faux bipartisanship in the pursuit of selling out is no virtue."
There's a whole chorus of the netroots currently rallying against bipartisanship, against "centrism," against moderation of any kind. Gets back to the whole "compromise is a dirty word" argument (the Goldwater quote is always a dead tell for this line of thinking).
It's really an echo of Norquist's quote to the Denver post back in 2003 (though I think Dick Armey really came up with the punchline): "We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals -- and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship. Bipartisanship is another name for date rape."
This they-did-it-to-us-so-now-we-can-do-it-to-them approach is clear recipe for a race to the bottom. Everyone is falling all over themselves to interpret the midterms, but in my opinion, it was a simple "get the bums out" message. To imitate the bums being evicted is to miss the core point. Fortunately Pelosi appears to understand. Let's hope she resists the cries from the peanut gallery for pounds of flesh.