It continues ...

The Right Wing Noise Machine and its bought-and-paid-for press. I heard something like this last night when I had Wolfie on:

As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking.

...

But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories.

...

So it's not, 'let's see what the Dems will do for the people', or 'the Dems have a robust agenda to turn around this nation's slide under the Rethugs'. No. It's 'the Dems are a buncha meanies because they're not bipartisan'.

Know what? Fuck you assholes.

We've had 6 years of the Rethugs' version of 'bipartisanship' and look what it's got us. We're laughingstock in the world community, our economy is teetering on the brink, we're engaged in an endless 'War on Terra', the last Congress was one of the most corrupt in history, and we've managed to destroy a nation that was relatively peaceful and terrorist-free.

And you 'journalists' are worried the Rethugs might not have a say in crafting legislation in the new Congress? I say keep 'em out of the process until this nation is running correctly again. I'm sorry, but if I have a guy in the shop who wrecks more shit than he fixes, well ... he's out the door at the soonest before he costs me more money.

If we have a political party whose recent track record has been one of utter failure, they should be kept out of the process until they complete remedial Lawmaking 101. Do they have Legislating for Dummies out yet?

Look, I believe in bipartisanship. I believe the more viewpoints you consider, the more informed decisions you make. I don't believe the Dems should pull what the Rethugs have over the last few years; tit-for-tat isn't the answer but until the Chimp is out of the White House, I would limit congressional Rethugs' power greatly. They've proven they can't be trusted to look out for anyone's interest but their own and that of their campaign contributors.

They've proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

They've proven, since Nixon's time, that their motto is 'Party before Country'. Gerry Ford did when he pardoned Nixon not 'for the good of the nation' but for the good of the Republican Party. The same crew has been around since then. Had Nixon gone to trial, I'd venture to say many of the players in the WH today would have slinked off into obscurity back then. Either that or done jail time. Cheney and Rummy are ubiquitous in every Rethug administration from Nixon to Dubya and all the minor players have gotten steady employment since. It's time for a thorough housecleaning at 1600 and the Rethugs in Congress should have no power until all the investigations are over.

We can't afford it, on many levels. We can't afford bipartisanship until we fix the United States.

Great thanks to Digby for the link. Go read his post on this too.