What Is Bi-Partisanship?

[lame54]

[gratuitous]

1. Doing what the Republicans tell you to do

Sheesh. Some things are sort of self-explanatory.

There was another cartoon a few weeks ago, Obama and some evil Republican negotiating their positions. The Republican says, “Well, if you move a little, I’ll move a little.” Obama moves right, closer to the Republican. In the last scene, the Republican moves . . . further to the right.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Bi-partisanship can mean two different things.

1. Cooperation between the political parties as a means to achieve a greater good for the nation.

There is also a sub category definition to example #1 which could mean done in good faith at least by one Party but in an incompetent manner.

2. A fig-leaf to cover naked intra party collusion as a means to betray the vast majority of the people on behalf of a select few.

Ultimately the American People will have to decide which definition most fits the current spate of "bi-partisanship," but the endless promotion of "bi-partisanship" for "bi-partisanship" sake by the corporate media, particularly when the Democrats are in power is just self-serving B.S.

Thanks for the thread, lame.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

3. Seems to me to be a lot of posturing and chest-beating

While the country slides into a mudhole.

[janet118]

4. Well, here's Grover Norquist's definitions

2003: "'Bipartisanship is another name for date rape,' Norquist, a onetime adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said, citing an axiom of House conservatives....

"These days, Norquist and other conservative activists use the GOP tilt in the legislatures to make life difficult for Democratic members of Congress. On issue after issue - the war on terror, taxes, judicial appointees - Republican leaders in Washington have been getting GOP-controlled legislatures to go on record in support of Bush initiatives. It makes it more difficult for Democrats to explain unpopular votes back home."

2011: “Bipartisan means two different things,” he says. “When Democrats have a supermajority in the House and a few supermajority in the Senate, and you have a bipartisan agreement, that’s the Democrats forcing a few Republicans to go along with them...

“Bipartisan next year is going to be a Republican majority in the House, a strong Republican 47 votes in the Senate, forcing Obama and the Democrats to vote for them. So bipartisanship depends on who’s on top,” he says.