Thursday, June 26, 2014

Dysfunctional

Negotiation, compromise, and deal-making are what politics and governing are about --- or should be. The basic idea is that you're willing to give up some things you want to get other things you want just as much or more.

When government is operating the way it should, deals are negotiated and compromises are reached. Nobody is perfectly happy, but the vast majority of Americans are happy enough.

The current problem starts with the insane overreaction to the Obama administration among the geezers in the tea party movement. In the Republican party, any politician who tries to govern via negotiation and compromise is asking for trouble in the form of primary challenges. Thad Cochran and Lindsey Graham survived theirs; Eric Cantor didn't.

If America is lucky, the tea crazies will split off from the GOP and the country can return to its normal condition, which includes a functional government.

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KEY FACT

Dedicated to Jim Ferguson. If you don't know who Jim Ferguson is, you (a) haven't seen The Missouri Breaks, or (b) have an inadequate ability to fully assimilate movie trivia.