Bipartisanship is both Democrats and Republicans standing together to condemn the Usurper and demand his immediate execution for treason and murder.

Partisanship is Democrats standing up to condemn the Usurper and demand his immediate execution for treason and murder ...

... and then throwing Republicans in prison for life without parole for aiding and abetting him.

This "Unity" bullshit is nothing but the latest trick by the wingnuts to get the democrats to bend over and take it up the ass. Again.

And beg for more.

I haven't seen any genuine partisanship on the part of Democrats since they savaged Goldwater in the 1964 campaign.

I figure I've got about 43 years of vicious, ruthless, pitiless, unspeakably nasty, unforgivable PARTISANSHIP from Democrats against the forces of evil (AKA Republicans) coming to me.

And I ain't listenin' to no stinkin' shit about unity until I get it.

This is the kind of happy horseshit you can expect from now on from all those crypto- and not-so-crypto-Republicans who don't like what they're facing: possible irrelevance to the majority of the country.

Where exactly were all these kumbaya-singing non-partisans in the 12 years that the GOP ran roughshod over any kind of debate at all? I think the silence of those years speaks volumes about the motivations of our current crop of "post-partisans." (don't blame Barack, he's just a typical hack opportunist, taking what he can and using it--hey, Barack, Archer-Daniels-Midland is REAL happy about your "post-partisan" schtick, ya think?).

What a load of crap. Our system doesn't WORK right unless people are fighting like cornered weasles all the time. Real compromise is forged only in the fires of loud, even vicious debate. But real debate, not the totalitarian-style bullshit the GOP foisted on Congress for 12 years.

This is just a transparent ploy by the GOP (and spineless moderates of both parties) to get some power back. You think the moment the GOP gets a majority in the House and Senate again (if they do), that they'll be saying squat about "post-partisanship?" It's to laugh.

What a bunch of numbnut yahoos. Phooey. I say, we should fucking CASTRATE the GOP, and start RIGHT NOW! And they should fight like weasels to prevent that. That's how the system works. If we were like that prick Grover Norquist, we'd turn the GOP into a nice group of house-pets. But we're not like you Grover, we actually think your opinion means something...although, I have to say, in Grover's case? I'd feel better knowing his nuts were in a jar somewhere, and he was curled up by the fire, farting and dreaming of dog-bones..

I see the drooling brainstem Yahoo board posters have nowhere to go anymore, LOL!!

I too find it exceedingly ironic that after having taken a resounding defeat, the GOP is now mewling about 'bipartisanship,' as if they somehow deserve a modicum of respect. Their years of derision and arrogance made the obvious leap - just as an office boot-licker will change from haughty to servility when his or her patron is discharged without ceremony.

You're quite right - and you were in your earlier article as well - that this was a wholly predictable outcome. The only acceptable response at present is to continue to drive home the issues the *voters* wanted. It will only be when the Republicans field candidates that represent a majority of their constituency, not just their fanatical and psychopathic 'base,' that they will be worthy of returning to power. Until then, they must continue to be beaten and beaten soundly.

To give in and grant them an ounce of mercy at this point will only enable them to stab us all in the back once again, when 2008 rolls around.

T

You're in our house now, son, show some motherfucking respect or get the fuck out!

As for Conanson's piece - I couldn't agree more.

Cesar Milan put it best "Republicans can't learn anything until they are subdued, calmed and learn to accept their submissive position."

Granted he was talking about dogs, but Republicans aren't that much stupider than your average dog, so the same lesson can apply.

LOL

atrios has written eloquently (can't find the link, sorry) about how the 'center' or 'pragmatic' empiricists think they can 'figure it all out' (I'm hopelessly paraphrasing here) and that, despite their good intentions, this is simply a wrong-headed way to look at such problems.

I have another formulation (not really my own) to help clear up the confusion.

The debate is always divided between 'left' and 'right,' but actually, there are 3 camps, 'left' and 'right,' and what I'll call 'corporate' (it's also called 'elite.')

The 'corporate' view hews one way or another depending on the issue, but it's a class that represents it's own interests and has the MSM as it's voice.

The 'centrists' or 'unity' folks are pretty much espousing this 'corporate' line, and they drive real centrists (center-left and center-right folks) up the wall.

I was arguing in the "Gerry Ford" pledge thread over at HotSoup (stupid name) making the same point. I ended by suggesting that the GOP should "go first" by helping the new Democratic majority pass some veto-proof legislation, knowing it would never happen. In fact, with poison pill added to the ethics bill, we know exactly what this "civility" is all about - a head fake.

Standing on the edge of fascism (Yes I know what it means, and it is the right term.) asking for compromise is a crock.

If we dont work in a Bipartisan fashion, then all we aspire to is Bipolar

If we dont work in a Bipartisan fashion, then all we aspire to is Bipolar

What the hell?

That's funny. I had this same conversation yesterday during a meeting, when someone mentioned that I shouldn't engage in "partisan politics" if I wanted to move a particular initiative foward. Their concern, I gather, was that I combined criticism of a current conservative policy with a proposal to advance a more 'grassroots' solution. My impatient response was "Of course I'm 'partisan' - when one party tries to hold to progressive social values and a just society...and the other does everything it can to render that impossible."

And as Robert Redford said last night at the opening press conference for the Sundance Film Festival when asked whether he thought Sundance selections were politically oriented to the left: "Anyone with a rational mind and a sense of decency is being positioned as a lefty by the extreme right. I believe in the tenets of democracy, and when they get pushed, it pisses me off."

Partisanship, in this environment, is a necessary anger.