| I know he's a nice guy and all, but politics ain't beanbag and 4 years (or 8 years when Americans continue to reject their party and candidates and blatant attempts to induce failure in a presidency) goes by very fast when you've got major problems to fix.
President Obama spoke the plain truth today on MTP - both sides don't do it:
I would caution against this notion of, 'Well, both sides are just kind of unwilling to cooperate.'
And that's just not true.
I mean if you look at the facts, what you have is a situation here where the Democratic Party, warts and all, and certainly me, warts and all, have consistently done our best to try to put country first.
Obama has gone far further to Republican positions than they've come to his (and ours).
Republican leaders in congress are at the mercy of their most radical Tea Party adherents, and they just can't take "yes" for an answer. Nor are they able to comprehend what Americans told them in the recent election: total rejection is total rejection and finagling your House numbers is not victory. Period.
What Obama said will cause gasps in editorial offices everywhere, but like he said, "look at the facts." It will be difficult for those who crave bipartisanship, partly as an out to the tough job they're in, partly as a sop to those editorial writers, to act in conjunction with the reality that the other side is damned near crazy.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
Republicans are way outside the mainstream these days. Mann and Ornstein documented it.
Obama said it.
Democrats need to internalize it and not allow Republicans to continue to win the argument over their failed policies and a phantom reality.
We know Republicans can't take "yes" for an answer.
What we don't know is if Democrats can take "resounding mandate" as their motivation to act in the interests of the Middle and Working Classes these next 4 years.
We shall soon see... |
