In the spirit of the season, Minnesota's wise man shows the way.
Senator Al Franken is the sort of better angel that I do hope sits on all our shoulders, from the President on down to those who support him, are disappointed in him, angry with him, or reside somewhere in between.
Pragmatism isn't just for sell-outs and centrists anymore.
We've had endless palavers - to put it kindly - about tone and hyperbole.
It's pretty clear that a majority of this site (or at least, a majority of those that seem active on it nowadays) oppose the tax compromise that now looks increasingly certain to pass.
I think it's fair to say that it's also clear that even the compromise's supporters - nominal though they might be - are hardly hailing it as something wonderful and worthy of celebration.
Where I - and I think others that share a similar lukewarm support of it find issue - is with the absolutist opposition and rampant hyperbole.
Al Franken's e-mail to supporters isn't exactly what I would call perfect -- to be perfect, Franken would have to recognize that "first down" was back in September, when Obama was urging congress to take up the Bush tax cuts back when it might have done some electoral good. Given that the current Democratic controlled House has just a few days left, and the frustrating Senate is only going to get more frustrating in the same period of time -- I think it would be more accurate to say that we're looking at 3rd and long, at best. We can then quibble about the wisdom of a give up the series draw play.
But that's besides the point.
If the last two years haven't breathed life into the old cliche about democracy being the worst form of government - except all the rest, you haven't been paying attention.
Most votes are imperfect.
All legislation is imperfect.
We can Monday morning quarterback - and everyone certainly watches the tape to learn from the previous game when it's over - but hindsight is hindsight.
We can coach from our armchairs - convinced this play or that play was the wrong one, but ultimately - I would hope we all recognize that there's a world of difference between sitting comfortably in front of a bowl of chips, beer in hand, and screaming at the TV and actually participating directly in the action.
Senator Franken cast an imperfect vote for an imperfect bill, imperfectly negotiated by an imperfect President, hobbled by a far from perfect election with a not in the same universe as perfect opposition party.
Hate to tell ya' -- but that's pretty much the story of America....
Text of Franken's e-mail...
A lot of people are unhappy that the President punted on first down, and I'm one of them. Extending the Bush tax breaks for the super-wealthy will explode our deficit over the next two years without doing anything to help our economy. It's bad policy.
But for Minnesota's middle class, struggling to get by in a tough economy, there's a lot in this bill that will really help: tax cuts for working families, a payroll tax holiday, energy tax credits, and the extension of Recovery Act initiatives that are already making a difference.
And for the Minnesotans truly suffering right now-men, women, and children on the edge of economic disaster-the alternative is simply unacceptable. If we let Republicans block unemployment benefits, even temporarily, there will be a lot more pain for working families, a lot more homeless kids spending Christmas in a shelter or a car.
If this is the prelude of a permanent extension of the Bush tax breaks for the super-wealthy, we're in big trouble. We'll lose our ability to make the investments we need to grow our way out of long-term budget deficits: education, infrastructure, and research and development. And I am taking the President at his word that he will fight harder to put an end to these wasteful tax breaks in 2012 than he did in 2010.
This isn't a great deal by any stretch of the imagination. But I got into this line of work because I wanted to stand up for Minnesota families trying to put food on the table and build a better life for their kids. And, for them, the only thing worse than a bad deal would be no deal at all. That's why I voted yes yesterday-and why I will continue my fight for economic policies that create jobs, address our deficit problem, and build new opportunities for Minnesota.