If partisanship is bad for America, then why are Republicans so partisan?
As The Sideshow puts it:
It seems like only a few months ago that voting for Democrats was voting for terrorists (according to Dubya and other Republicans). That was such a wonderful, bipartisan era.
There is still a woeful double standard at work against us. If you're a Republican, Nixonian dirty tricks, lies and "jokes" about assassinations are just vigorous politics and we should stop being so sensitive.
But if Democrats propose policies that favor ordinary Americans over corporations, it's proof that Democrats are being excessively partisan.
It's bizarre.
Digby warns that the Stepford Press is going all-out to tell each other how important it is that Nancy Pelosi rein in the partisanship in Washington. Every time a pundit says something like this, a little bell should go off in your head that says, "I must ask this person immediately how Pelosi is supposed to stop the Republicans from being so viciously partisan."Washington, D.C. must be an amazing place, where even recent history is to be discarded in favor of new narratives that fit into the world view our media mandarins wish to concoct for us on behalf of the noise machine.
It wouldn't hurt to start reminding people that "what is partisan" and "what is good for the country" are two different issues, and it is the latter that matters. If the Republicans oppose programs that are good for the country, the Democrats have no choice but to appear "partisan" - because this isn't about being a Democrat, it's about being an American.
So when the Republicans oppose raising the minimum wage to $8.00 an hour, that's partisan - and supporting a raise in the minimum wage is not. When the Republicans want to sneak giveaways to businesses into bills, they are being partisan. When Republicans oppose making it easier for Americans to buy prescription drugs at lower prices, that's partisan. When Republicans turned the Medicare drug benefit into a giveaway for pharmaceutical houses, that was partisan, and if they oppose Democrats' attempts to amend the benefit bill to lower costs, that will be partisan, too.
It seems like only a few months ago that voting for Democrats was voting for terrorists (according to Dubya and other Republicans). That was such a wonderful, bipartisan era.
There is still a woeful double standard at work against us. If you're a Republican, Nixonian dirty tricks, lies and "jokes" about assassinations are just vigorous politics and we should stop being so sensitive.
But if Democrats propose policies that favor ordinary Americans over corporations, it's proof that Democrats are being excessively partisan.
It's bizarre.
