Good for Them

According to the Washington Post, "Democrats To Start Without GOP Input". They're putting away the "civility" stuff, so that they can get those key "first 100 hours" done.

But some are handwringing:

Democratic leaders say they are torn between giving Republicans a say in legislation and shutting them out to prevent them from derailing Democratic bills.

"There is a going to be a tension there," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the new chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "My sense is there's going to be a testing period to gauge to what extent the Republicans want to join us in a constructive effort or whether they intend to be disruptive. It's going to be a work in progress."

Fortunately for them, things are supposed to be more genteel down the road:

Daly said Democrats are still committed to sharing power with the minority down the line. "The test is not the first 100 hours," he said. "The test is the first six months or the first year. We will do what we promised to do."

Heck, if you're going to break a promise, why not break this one? Trying to "play fair" isn't going to win any support. Even if the other legislators are your friends (hint: they aren't), they rely for support on people who truly hate you. Those people are more important to the Republicans than you'll ever be, and your "friends" will ignore your attempts at bipartisanship as soon as it's politically convenient for them.

(And, no, it probably won't bring around the swing voters, either. They want results, not platitudes.)

Yes, this sort of thing is meat and drink to the Washington set. They (well, at least the "centrists") want everybody to play fair and have lots of lovely cocktail parties and hate the idea of having to alienate their Republican friends.

At the end of the day, though, they don't vote for you, and all their blather is becoming quickly obsolete. (Thanks to the Time "you" award stuff, which I haven't got to, but will.) I know it sounds weird, but you really can safely ignore people like Friedman, Broder, Cohen, and all the others. They've lost their relevance, and they're the only ones who care about this stuff.

Go ahead. Kick some ass. If the Republicans don't like it, they can filibuster for a change.