| 24 July 2008
Washington’s Bi-Partisan ConsensusAmerica’s fake partisan divide
By: Matt Fay
“Allow me to explain how our federal government works. To begin with, by the federal government I mean Democrats and Republicans working together. And the only thing dumber than a Democrat or a Republican is when those pricks work together.”
- Lewis Black, “Black on Broadway”
If you were to listen to mainstream political pundits, it might seem that the only thing going wrong inside the Beltway is the “partisan politics” that are stopping congress from getting anything done. In his memoir What Happened, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan claims that the partisan divide in Washington, D.C. is worse than ever. This contention, though, would ignore the over two hundred years of American history that have seen actual brawls take place on the senate floor, a nation ripped apart by Civil War, and even one of the Founding Fathers killed by another in a duel. Outside of bickering, analysis of Red-States and Bule-States, and petty rhetorical posturing during election years, though, bipartisanship is the order of the day and the differences between Republicans and Democrats are less clear all the time.
I used to feel that partisan attitudes in Washington were the main problem with the political establishment. I was dead wrong, and it was a fake Democrat that convinced me of this. No, this was not a fake Democrat like Senator Joe Lieberman, but a Democrat that actually doesn’t exist. Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlett, the Democratic President from NBC’s The West Wing, engaged in a debate during that show’s fictional presidential campaign in which President Bartlett responded to his opponents accusations of partisanship that that is exactly what the Founders wanted – “an adversarial system.”
Lewis Black has said, “Republicans have nothing but bad ideas and Democrats have no ideas.” Here are just a few of the bad ideas that the two parties have worked together on that have been passed:
- No Child Left Behind: Ties federal funding for education to standardized tests
- McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform: Places restrictions on the 1st Amendment
- Iraq War Resolution: Authorized the Iraq War
- The USA PATRIOT Act: Diminished the protections of the 4th and 6th Amendments
- The Military Commissions Act: Set up military “kangaroo courts” for trying prisoners at Gitmo
- The Kyl/Lieberman Amendment: Naming the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization
Foreign policy is perhaps the most bipartisan of all issues. The only differences between Republicans and Democrats on foreign policy are completely rhetorical. Both Republicans and Democrats reflexively look at militarism, imperialism, and interventionism as good things. Neither party questions the stationing of American troops in foreign countries or unconditional support for Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Pentagon budgets are rarely opposed by members of congress on either side of the aisle. There is no lack of bipartisan support for sending American troops into intractable situations around the world, such as the conflict in Darfur. Both parties feel that the United States is the “Indispensible Nation”, to quote Madeleine Albright, and that the U.S. is the exception to the rule of law in international affairs.
Republicans are constantly claiming that Al Qaeda would prefer a Democrat in the White House because Republicans are stronger on terror. In response Michael Scheuer has claimed, on many occasions, that Osama bin Laden would prefer a Republican president because their bellicose rhetoric is more conducive to his recruiting efforts, while Democrats are too “wishy-washy.” On a policy level Scheuer recently said, “There is not a nickel’s worth of difference between the foreign policy of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.”
Currently there is a resolution being debated in the House of Representatives (HR 362) that claims to not be an authorization for military force against Iran. This resolution, though, calls for “stringent inspections” of all cargo entering and leaving Iran, as well as the restriction of movement of Iranian officials – measures that cannot be imposed without the use of force. What is interesting about this resolution is that it is sponsored by 211 of the 435 members of the House. 96 of these sponsors are Democrats.
Democrats were elected as a majority in 2006 on promises of ending the war in Iraq, and returning the country to “peace and prosperity.” HR 362 is another example of Lewis Black’s contention that…
“A republican stands up in congress and says 'I GOT A REALLY BAD IDEA!!' and the democrat stands up after him and says 'AND I CAN MAKE IT SH******!!'”
Or, on the difference between the two parties,
“What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? A Democrat blows, a Republican sucks.”
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