I’ve never been a huge fan of bipartisanship. We already have too few political parties in the US.<\/p>\n
With only two big, clunky parties left — the Republican and the Democratic — we need them to offer clear choices, stark debate, a range of policy choices.<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama keeps trying to close the gap, suggesting that the tone of Washington is too rancorous, too vitriolic.<\/p>\n
Nonsense. There was a time when lawmakers in the Capital beat each other with cudgels and fought duels. <\/p>\n
If the current crop of Democrats and Republicans can’t handle a little feistiness, they should go home.<\/p>\n
Mr. Obama already has an unwieldy range of opinions within his own party. He should herd his crew together as best he can and get as much done as he can.<\/p>\n
To that end, he should encourage Democrats in the Senate to set aside the filibuster rules that are stifling even the most basic policy debates and decisions.<\/p>\n
Republicans, too, should make it clear that the filibuster, requiring a 60-vote majority, has no place in the Senate or in any representative body.<\/p>\n
Voters don’t need Mr. Obama to straddle the fence. <\/p>\n
If we don’t like the Democratic agenda, or their record of progress, Americans will have a clear choice in 2010 and again in 2012. <\/p>\n
On this score, I think the GOP has been much more straightforward and much more honest.<\/p>\n
They’ve said bluntly and unequivocally that they reject the President’s plans for the country and hope to offer a new path. They have shown exactly zero interest in bipartisanship.<\/p>\n
In this, if in nothing else, the President should follow their lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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