[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
I was mildly amused when the centrism paradigm of American politics took a savage blow with the retirement of Senator Olympia Snowe--allegedly a shining beacon of Republican Senate moderation so worthy of liberal attention and compromise—who before departing took a virulently steamy and radioactive dump on the Obama White House for being such surly disobedient political chumps. So much for the embrace of moderate Republicans resulting in positive results and soothing bipartisan grace.
Small smiles followed the righteous intellectual huffing that ensued, see what happens when one embraces the ridiculous idea that Republicans can be worked with and can be trusted with honest compromise? The amusement stemmed not from the sharp indignation but from the idea that with this flaming fire hose of horseshit Ms. Snow just blasted at the White House would make the awful, stupid notion of bipartisanship so wonderfully die the instant death it deserves, that somehow bloviating DC pundit centrists would shut up with their ridiculous clucking about how the country hates all the political fighting. Alas, it is fated not to be, departing Senators flipping the bird are simply ignored by the bipartisanship fetishists who somehow hope time will magically erase the humiliation and total repudiation of their politics. Right.
Light mirth at this absurd political landscape turned dark when the latest amazing Supreme Court farce took place last week over Obama health care reform, “conservative” justices spouting utterly ludicrous tea party broccoli talking points and absolutely smashing any of their lousy legal principles should they actually strike down the law. The broccoli wasn’t the point, it was the sight of Republicans yet again doing anything and everything they can—god damn it if it’s necessary club the sonzabitches with broccoli!—to strike down Romneycare with the most stupid and childish of intellectual methods. So much for American honesty, justice and policy, oh well, do anything to knife the Democrats.
Some said this time, by God and baby Jesus and all the truth we can muster, surely the bipartisanship fools will see the light and recognize the Republicans cannot be trusted in any sense, they never could be, compromise will never work in this environment, only fighting will. Maybe the broccoli will finally slam home this truth forever.
No, I’m afraid not, human beings and especially politicians hate to admit not only that they were wrong, but also obnoxiously stupid and destructive as well. Who, me? Heh. A national campaign was built and promoted on being above it all, even after three years of nuclear failure President Obama isn’t going to suddenly say whoops, sorry, blew that bipartisan compromise thing.
Not even in the face of the latest budget fantasy from the House Republican leadership, “fantasy” is not hyperbole in any sense, they really think trillions of dollars will somehow appear out of thin air. Just to blast home the truth one more time, here’s one of the best economic and intellectual minds in the country, Paul Krugman:
For a lasting budget deal can only work if both parties can be counted on to be both responsible and honest — and House Republicans have just demonstrated, as clearly as anyone could wish, that they are neither.
This has been a screamingly obvious truth for decades, and to say the Obama Presidency has been a trial is to so understate the matter. Compromise with the Republicans halved what the stimulus could have been, made a total mockery of health care reform and revolted the Democratic base. If we had really raised the Medicare eligibility rate and cut Social Security in that flaming budget deal fiasco—which almost happened—all bets could be off for the election right now, that’s how lost we’ve become under this nightmare of bipartisan blather.
Well. Even after three years of failure we seemed to have learned nothing, that even after bending over backwards on every conceivable position on health care that’s so obviously constitutional we still have to listen that Bush vs. Gore complete judicial moron Antonin Scalia sputter on about broccoli. Stranger things have happened in my lifetime, perhaps the flaming truth that the Republicans are brutally oppressive sexist authoritarians who are never to be trusted and are only worthy of a fight will finally become accepted by the White House, that if the Republicans on the Supreme Court actually throw out health care over their ludicrous legal reasoning the stupid idea of centrism and compromise will finally die. Maybe the broccoli will really do it.