Beyond this shutdown our government has lost the ability to talk to the other side.

[dkf]

Friendships across the aisle are rare, such that there is complete dysfunction as both sides stay in their corner and talk only to people who believe as they do.

There is no cooperation, no desire to get past gridlock, too many red lines.

What's more the people passionate about politics see compromise as the worst thing ever, versus making government work.

Any middle ground is seen as a betrayal, a caving in, the actions of the spineless and to be reviled.

Congress isn't going to function if that is the general attitude so get used to shutdowns and brinksmanship. That's the only option when you are uncompromising.

We the people should be demanding cooperation. Instead we demand no concessions. Thus we are where we are.

[geek tragedy]

1. Democrats do too much compromising, the Republicans don't do it at all.

There is no equivalency.

[HappyMe]

5. Agreed.

The Dems are always extending the olive branch. This time we smacked them with it.


This is 100% on the repugs.

[FSogol]

7. True: "This is 100% on the repugs." n/t

[hrmjustin]

2. This is the republicans fault.

[Rex]

3. Been that way for years and years now, you just notice?

Did you think the GOP was kidding when they said they would NEVER work with this POTUS?

[FSogol]

4. Yeah? And one party is to blame for that. Pity you cannot name them.

More false equivalencies.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

6. Not true. A fabrication. The amount of CR is already a Dem compromise

Bt bed getting at sequestration levels rather than previous spending amounts.

Even at that, I would be happy to entertain discussion of compromise on ANY other issue under virtually any other circumstance.

But the Dems would be criminal if they allowed a negotiation on something that is law of the land.

That is flat out NOT how to govern.

BTW, where were GOP on this all summer? Oh yeah. Refusing to meet or compromise.

[dkf]

17. But this permeates EVERYTHING.

It's not just this shutdown.

The sides don't communicate. They don't speak. They have created no working relationship.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

19. No. The Repugs have done this unilaterally. Oh, off topic

What are the top 5 things you love about the Democratic Party?

[dkf]

22. Well I used to think it was the party of good governance...

I used to think we were the party opposed to stupid wars

I used to think we despised government surveillance

I used to think we were the responsible party who cleaned up after Republicans who could fix the long term budget (ala Bill Clinton)

I used to think we could fix a broken healthcare system.

I thought we were the party who would revolutionize power generation and move towards solar energy.

I thought we were the party who could even the playing field for small business.

Sigh.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

23. Ok. So nothing

Just as I thought.

[dkf]

24. Whatever. I guess you love gridlock and red lines.

[Raffi Ella]

8. That is such blatant bullshit right wing propaganda.

Congress isn't the problem here, the Teabagging rethugs are. But thanks for taking the time to type out that republican meme here at Democratic Underground.

[winter is coming]

9. We demand no concessions because the other side isn't dealing in good faith.

We demand them because one side's idea of "cooperation" is to seek the systematic destruction of our government with total disregard for the welfare of everyday Americans. You can't be "reasonable" with unreasonable people, and it's foolhardy to try.

[NightWatcher]

10. Obama can deal with Russia and Iran, but not the GOP

That says volumes about the GOP

[Mass]

11. You're talking about Republicans, I hope

because Democrats are ready to compromise. The CR (without the ACA stuff) is a compromise. In fact the GOP and the Dems are ready to vote for the pure budget stuff in the CR if it came to the floor.

It is the inability that Boehner has to ignore the Tea Party that is the problem. Without it, there would be a CR. We would not like it, but it would be passed.

[kestrel91316]

12. THIS poster?? ROFLMFAO

This poster never met a Democrat or Democratic policy they liked.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

13. I'm getting that vibe

[kestrel91316]

14. I've been noticing for over a year. No idea how they get away with it.

[Cali_Democrat]

16. Only a year?

There was a long thread in meta on this poster. It listed her posts going back years and so many used right wing talking points.

The OP couldn't defend any of it.

[dkf]

21. Lol. I didn't dwell in meta. Mean girl central...that's why it was kaboshed.

[liberal_at_heart]

15. Democrats have been compromising for 30 years. It is time to get Reaganomics out of our

economy. No more compromising.

[leftstreet]

18. Voters killed the GOP in 2006 & 2008

They rejected Reaganomics

The Democrats brought them back

[dkf]

20. Tip O'Neill got Reagan to fix social security.

There were a few shutdowns during Reagan's tenure but they were swiftly fixed.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. Only the Republicans have that attitude

Another proof of bad faith: The inconsistency of ‘blacktracking’

Before President George W. Bush announced his support for legislation creating a federal Do Not Call list, liberal politicians and liberal bloggers were uniformly in favor of the idea. It was, they said, a matter of principle. Government regulation for consumer protection was consistent with their values, their ethics, their ideology and their philosophy of government.
...
So what happened when this man, their foe, suddenly made this proposal part of his agenda? Well, after Bush announced his support for the Do Not Call list, all those liberal politicians and liberal bloggers who had previously supported the idea … still supported the idea. They still insisted it was in accord with their principles and their values and they stuck with those principles and values. They applauded Bush for his support, welcomed his support, and worked with him to make the registry a reality.
...
For the past six years, President Barack Obama has repeatedly embraced Republican ideas — from the ACA itself, a Heritage Foundation plan first implemented by Mitt Romney, to his recent consultation with Congress over military action against Syria. Some consider this habit of Obama’s to be an act of shrewd political genius — “11 dimensional chess,” some call it. Others view it as evidence that he’s a lousy bargainer who concedes half the game with his opening offer. Still others say it shows he’s neither maneuvering nor bargaining, just a moderate who embraces some Republican ideas because he likes them.

But the response from some nominal conservatives has not been anything like the consistency liberals showed on the rare occasions President Bush supported Democratic ideas. Their response is to switch positions — to abandon their prior argument and allegiance and to being opposing ideas they had very recently advocated just because Obama had announced his support of them.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2013/09/30/another-proof-of-bad-faith-the-inconsistency-of-blacktracking/