Bipartisanship is Dead. It Was Always a Mirage Dangled by Repubs. Time to Bring the Hammer...

[Blackhatjack]

Obama has given Repubs every opportunity to join in a 'bipartisan' way to address the great problems afflicking our country. Repubs have always played the bipartisanship card as a bluff, always intending(and in fact voting) NO to every effort by Democrats.

Reality is everything will have to pass with just Democratic votes.

So the real opposition is coming from the 'blue dog' Democrats.

If Obama wants to be a two term President, he is going to have to bring the hammer. Blue Dogs who threaten to vote against the Democratic Party efforts to address these looming catastrophes need to get the message loud and clear --you will lose chairmanships, seniority, etc. IF you vote with the Repubs to oppose everything while pretending to be acting in the spirit of bipartisanship.

THERE IS NO BIPARTISANSHIP WITH REPUBS --NEVER WAS, NEVER WILL BE.

There is one thing with Repubs --bring down Obama. Obstruct everything. Vote NO on every Democratic action.

Now that we have the rules straight, Obama and the Democratic Congress need to get on with it....

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Republicans 'are surplus to requirements'

The GOP is an unecessary item

[tabbycat31]

2. I ripped the Democrats a new one on bipartisanship in my latest blog post

it pertains to state issues, but I basically said that a party of Alan Graysons can get so much more done than a party of Harry Reids.

[Blackhatjack]

3. It's time for a Reality Check .... Time for Action .... Time to Leave Repubs Behind

The Repubs become irrelevant if Democrats bring all their members in line to act.

It is time to put up or watch the tide turn against them in 2010 for not acting.

[ThomCat]

4. I am not sure Obama ever really cared about Bipartisanship.

I think he was smart enough to know the Republicans were going to stonewall and never really counted on them.

I think he used the appeal to bipartisanship as deliberate political theater. It looks good to appeal to unity, even if you know it isn't going to happen.

Obama is smart, and so is Rahm. They had to know exactly how far they could go without a single republican vote, and that they were not going to get a single republican vote. Yet they made changes anyway that people think were meant to appease the republicans into supporting this bill.

I think they used the sham of trying to appease republicans as a way to throw in some changes to the Insurance Industry Bailout Bill in ways insurance lobbyists wanted while pinning the blame for those changes on republicans.

[saracat]

5. There are definitely elements of truth to your post. I too feel that

a lot of this bipartisan BS was posturing and political expedience. Because you are right, they are not that stupid. This Admin definitely sets up curtains. I am always amazed by those that eviscerate Rahm for everything while exonerating Obama from any responsibility at all, conveniently ignoring the fact that Rahm did not WANT to be COC and that Obama pursued him. Obama got who and what he wanted.

I also believe a lot of this Stupak stuff is orchestrated and the non committal attitude( its a health care Bill, not an abortion Bill, etc) that is being reflected by the WH was preplanned in advance. I also wouldn't count out Stupak staying in the Final Bill. And i don't think many of the PTB would be shocked or even care much if it did. I hope I am wrong.

[timeforpeace]

6. The minority party always demands bipartisanship. The majority party tells them to take a hike.