"We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent -- a belief that if you lose, I win," declared the finger pointer in chief Barack Obama Wednesday night. "Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators."
Reality check: (A) Sometimes people say "no" to Barack's nominees because they are clearly unqualified. And (B) there's nothing wrong with "NO."
If the Democrats could ever get their s**t together, we'd applaud them. If they would have used The Power Of No when they were in the minority, there would be NO Iraq War, there wouldd be NO No Child Left Behind, there would be none of the hideous programs and wars Bully Boy Bush wanted.
Bully Boy got them because Democrats helped him.
We're not going to trash the Republican Party for using The Power Of No. Shame on the Democrats for never having the spine to stand up.
Even now.
Barack tossed around 'bi-partisanship' repeatedly in his State of the Union speech and if you don't get what a trap that is, think for a moment about which president first pushed it.
Or maybe you don't know who first pushed it? If so, drop back with us to Saturday's All Things Considered (NPR -- link has audio and text):
[Guy] RAZ: Now it turns out the whole idea of appealing to bipartisanship isn't really rooted in American political tradition.
Dr. SAM HASELBY (Historian, Harvard University): It started in the early '70s.
RAZ: That's Harvard historian Sam Haselby.
Dr. HASELBY: It was conservative Southern Democrats under the Nixon administration who were pro-Vietnam War and anti-Civil Rights, and they were looking for a way to represent those positions which were very unpopular in their party - in the Democratic Party at the time. And they started talking a lot about bipartisanship.
RAZ: And Richard Nixon adopted the idea. In his 1972 State of the Union address, Nixon used the word four times when he called on Congress to pass his agenda.
President RICHARD NIXON: ...which should and must be the subject of bipartisan action by this Congress, in the interest of the country in 1972.
Richard Nixon. The concept has no historical background in the Congress. It's a conceit pushed by Tricky Dick and Barry O wants to pimp it.
If you're not getting it, this is how we get attacks on Social Security. One group wants to do something (cut funds) and the other group, instead of standing strong, says 'bi-partisanship!' and that's how the country loses -- over and over.
