Ideology That Knows No Compromise

Compromise works when you're dealing (4.00 / 3)

with reasonable, rational people. Compromise does NOT work when you're dealing with people who are completely unreasonable and irrational. The latter is the situation we're now in, with the Teapublican Party. It was NOT the case even under Ronald Reagan. Heck, even Newt Gingrich and George W. Bush were more rational than these people in the funny costumes (and their puppet masters - Grover, the Koch brothers, Dick Armey, etc.)

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by: lowkell @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 15:13:18 PM UTC

That's what's so alarming (4.00 / 1)

about the current political environment. Even Gingrich and Bush look moderate!

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 16:12:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Don't they see that their gamble could essentially throw America into an economic tailspin, the likes of which we may never fully recover from? NO (4.00 / 1)

Just watch palin, bachmann, etc., they are all saying nothing will happen.  In their alternate universe, we will just pay the interest on the debt and go on.

As for cantor, his next campaign slogan will have to be "Ambition before Country".  In the last election the tea party claimed he wasn't a real conservative.  Now he has rolled the dice and become the tea party darling.  The downside for him is that America is riding along the clift because of him.  If we go over the clift, he will be the face to blame.    

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by: normanva @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 15:50:47 PM UTC

Very good point regarding Cantor, (0.00 / 0)

but in this particular case, I'd prefer we wait to save the economy. This guy will give us plenty of opportunity to make him look like the irrational egomaniac he really is.

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 16:15:22 PM UTC

Thanks, Here's Another Point (4.00 / 1)

What cantor does best is bring in money.  I suspect that once he gets a few million from wall street and big business, he will find a way to get the debt ceiling passed, probably with him no where in sight.

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by: normanva @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 16:33:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I would also add (4.00 / 1)

that Cantor has no doubt already received considerable financial backing from Money Street and Big Business in the last few years alone. What Cantor appears to be doing is walking a tightrope between his financiers and the extreme right-wing crowd. Perhaps the former can accept this game for now, but woe to Cantor if he calculates wrong and pulls the trigger on the economy.

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 16:54:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

So right (4.00 / 1)

Actually the patron saint of republican economic policy, Ayn Rand, would be proud of him.

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by: normanva @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 17:07:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Right, (0.00 / 0)

individualism, AT ANY COST, is the golden path that all individuals should follow. That's a major difference between many conservatives and liberals, the latter actually gives a damn about other people.  

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 17:12:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

We have BEEN compromised qite enough (4.00 / 2)

How much more ground can Dems give?  They have yielded to almost everything except Medicare privatization.  There seems to be nothing that won't be given away. So the question is would we/ should we compromise any more?  No!!!!!  Our side has done ALL the compromising.  Time for the other side to do it.  And the other side needs to cease and desist their extortion.  It should be illegal to threaten to crash intentionally the economy.  

But if they can legally get away with it, that doesn't justify caving to them in what will be a forever pattern of bullying, extortion, and gaming us by TeaPublicans.


There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos (Jim Hightower). PS I'm on Twitter here.

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 18:07:20 PM UTC

quite enough n/t (0.00 / 0)

There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos (Jim Hightower). PS I'm on Twitter here.

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 18:07:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And (4.00 / 1)

The last 2 polls had 70-80% of the population agreeing that there should be tax increases on the rich and big corporations as well as budget cuts.  The only folks supporting cantor are those in "The Bubble" of the republican party where facts have no meaning. Our side needs to hang tough and blame cantor and the wackos nonstop.

Cantor: Ambition Before Country

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by: normanva @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 18:48:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Indeed n/t (3.00 / 1)

There's nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos (Jim Hightower). PS I'm on Twitter here.

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 19:06:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Definitely, (0.00 / 0)

the one positive out of this whole debacle might be that Cantor's "true face" has been revealed to the America people. Although he might be a hero to a minority on the right, I will argue that he has isolated himself from the "moderate" voter, at least for some time to come.  

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 20:19:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I totally agree that compromise is out of the question, (0.00 / 0)

at this political juncture. As you point out, the Dems have conceded everything in the house but a few pieces of old furniture (yes, lousy metaphor). I think most in the Dem Party would agree its time to get a little tougher on our policy positions.
At the same time, Dems are in the right to promote compromise when the other side is not run by extremists who do not and will not compromise.
If nothing else, the Dems have to get better at framing the argument and taking the messaging offensive. President Obama can do a better job of that along with those Dems who are not fighting for their political lives.  

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 20:16:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Should we discard our willingness to compromise? (4.00 / 2)

Yes.  Without a doubt.  No more compromise.  You can't compromise with someone whose sole goal is to kill you.

Or maybe you haven't been paying attention to the likes of Mitch McConnell who says the GOP's goal is to make Obama a one-term president.  Period.  That's all they want.  

NO compromise.  No way. Not any more.

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by: CleetusMaggard @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 20:27:30 PM UTC

Again , I agree in this case, (0.00 / 0)

I was referring to the overall strategy for the Dem Party.
You're right, the Dem's have given up far too much and the GOP far too little. This has been a recurrent theme in national politics.
However, from my experience in discussions with self-proclaimed conservatives, compromise is looked down upon as a weakness. This is a ridiculous position. Compromise is the backbone of any functioning democratic form of government. The Dem's have simply taken it too far in the case of the debt ceiling.

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 20:33:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

As Some View Hi (4.00 / 1)

Atlanta Journal, Mike Luckovich,Cantor

Mere parsimony is not economy. Expense, and great expense, may be an essential part in true economy.
Edmund Burke

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by: blue bronc @ Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 23:58:23 PM UTC

The failure of self-government (4.00 / 1)

Self-government by a sizeable population requires not only that the citizens be willing to engage actively one way or another in the governing process (like knowing what's going on, and voting when appropriate), but, even more important, in a successful republic the counter-party must be be willing to cooperate with the winning party after an election or decision is made. This did not happen after 2008, nor did the 2010 election shift complete control of the government to the Republicans, so they were still the opposition party. The system requires that there be a "loyal opposition;" without it, the system will fail, as it did in 1860 under the stress of slavery and Westward expansion.

It is clear that we do not have a loyal opposition today; we have a dis-loyal, disrespectful opposition, whose adherents blame the opposite, ruling party, not themselves for the breakdown of governance; they emphatically do not recognize their own contribution to the impasse. This is almost exactly what happened in the ancient Roman republic with the breakdown of the Roman Senate under the stresses of empire-building. In that case, the plump, wea;thy Senators, absorbed in their political factions, sought to get rid of Ceasar(one of them, but serving as military leader), whom they (rightly) feared. That was when Ceasar was assassinated on the steps of the Senate. It begins to look like the same story, but without the legions at the back of Obama.  

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by: Teddy Goodson @ Sun Jul 17, 2011 at 18:34:16 PM UTC

Well said. (0.00 / 0)

It is a problem in the sphere of governance when one party always holds the threat of total noncooperation close at hand. The lessons of history are easily forgotten, if they are ever learned at all.  

Progressive86

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by: Progressive86 @ Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 01:44:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]