03-14-2012, 11:16 PM
(03-14-2012, 06:46 PM)Bolty Wrote: Correct. And while it's wildly popular to blame the politicians for the obstructionism that both democrats and republicans endorse heavily (while blaming the other side as not compromising), the reality is that the politicians are just doing what their constituents desire. We complain that they are unwilling to compromise, yet if they DO compromise they are lambasted in the media (Fox News punishes the republicans who compromise, while MSNBC punishes the democrats who do so). Under intense pressure to always tow the party lines, they respond accordingly, and government goes nowhere.
Maybe the collective will is truly in favor of obstruction. For quite some time the legislature was controlled by the Democrats but the Republicans controlled the White House more often than not. Clinton had 2 years to run his agenda before the country put out a big stop sign and put Republicans in charge of the House for the first time in decades. Since then it seems like the midterm election always strongly favors the party who doesn't have the sitting President. Perhaps our greatest fear as a nation is what will happen if we let our leaders (of whichever party) actually run the country (with an open spending account no less).