Mr. Obama began his campaign for president promising to be the president of the American people, denying the notion that there are "red states and blue states, rather that they are all American states" (not quoting exactly).
What has the result been? More below...
Bipartisanship, which I have renamed more accurately as "bipartisanshit", is a solution to a self-created problem. While I admire Mr. Obama's attempts at extending the hand, the bipartisanship tactic requires that the other side be persons of good will.
The Republicans are not persons of good will.
Bipartisanship in the current environment does not work. Here is a small analysis of what it's problems are. Note that these comments reflect MY OWN OPINION, and NOTHING ELSE. Feel free to add your opinions in comments.
- Those calling for "bipartisanship" seem to not trust their own beliefs or policies: When you have a political "good" to sell, you need to push that "good" and get the maximum amount for it. If you spend your efforts getting a "good" from the other side, it devalues your good, and elevates the value of the "good" of the other side. Obama should be promoting Democratic ideas, not Republican ones. Voters admire conviction. Obama was given a mandate to do CHANGE, not REPUBLICAN IDEAS IN DEMOCRATIC SHEEPSKINS.
- "Unrequited bipartisanship" seems to be begging: Let's say Obama extends the hand one time, and it gets slapped. Extending it over and over does not add to the impression that he is bipartisan. It rather creates the impression that he is desperate. If he were not desperate, the observer reasons, he would simply enact his policy. By requesting help from the other side, over and over, he creates the impression that he REQUIRES the help, not that he is being a leader. That is, absent the assistance from the other side, he would be incapable of succeeding. That is an impression of weakness.
- Bipartisanship is a bad bargaining strategy: When you go to the bazaar to buy a rug, you look at the $100 rug you want, and say "This rug is dirty, torn, and a bad color. I like the size, but it's too expensive. How about $25?" The rug person says "My children will starve at that price. I could knock off $25. $75 and not a penny less." Eventually you agree on $50. If you start with "Great rug. How about $50?", you will pay $100 for that rug. That's what bipartisanship is. It's offering $50 when you want to pay $50. We need to MAKE the Republicans bargain, by starting WAY far to the left, and forcing them to work with us. Of course, that means teaching Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, and several others about buying rugs. I agree with many that this is a difficult component, that the Blue Dogs are a serious part of the problem.
- A bipartisan result is not the same as a bipartisan process: As I note above, the process of bargaining is not bipartisan. It is VERY partisan. You start MORE extreme than you expect to end up at. The result of the partisan discussion is a bipartisan result, if the Republicans come to the table. But the PROCESS is a PARTISAN PROCESS, and the PARTISAN PROCESS, if done correctly, MAY produce a bipartisan result.
- Bipartisanship helps the other side and discourages your base: The bipartisan thing means that ME, the progressive base, and others like me have no rewards for our time, effort, and money. The Republicans seem to win when the Democrats are in power, and win when the Republicans are in power. When do liberals get something to feel good about?
- Bipartisanship means that proper credit is NOT given to the Bush Administration: It is clear that the horrible mess that we are now in is due to Republican policies, Republican enforcement and the lassez-faire theory of many on the right. Since Obama is "bipartisan", he sits there like a big lug while Republicans blame HIM for the current mess. Reagan never sat still - he blamed Carter for years, and partially insulated himself from blame for his economic problems. But Democrats seem frozen with fear, the fear of being NOT BIPARTISAN. It's time and past time to point fingers. If you don't point fingers and express blame, you will make the same error again. We need MORE BLAME for Bush, Cheney, and the current Republican "leadership" in the House and Senate.
It is time, and past time, to argue politically by starting from a Democratic position, not a bi-partisan position. The word "bipartisan" needs to be eliminated. At this point, it means "I am weak". And weakness in a President means "single-term".