Divided Government Doesn't Work Anymore

(The image above is from the website MSN Money.)

There was a time in this country when divided government worked. Even though one party controlled the White House and the other controlled one or both Houses of Congress, bills got passed and the economy moved forward. That was because both parties were willing to compromise for the good of the country.

Unfortunately, that idea of divided government no longer works. It doesn't work because the current congressional Republicans don't want it to work. They decided immediately after President Obama was elected that they would try to obstruct everyone he tried to do. They either wanted government to fail (in the hope they could blame that on the president) or their racism just wouldn't let them cooperate with an African-American president. Personally, I think its a bit of both.

But whatever the reason, it has become apparent that they are no longer willing to compromise for the good of the country. They would rather cause the economy to go down in flames than let their teabagger base see them compromise with the president on anything. For them, ideology (and their own re-election) is more important than their country.

That is why I have been saying for a while now that the Republicans must be voted out of power in the next election -- at least the ones who refuse to compromise on anything. America's future is too important to continue the vain hope that divided government can work again, as long as the teabaggers control the Republican Party.

And it looks like our next president (hopefully) agrees with that. Hillary Clinton told a crowd at the Greenbuild International Conference in Philadelphia last Thursday that this country needs a "course correction". She said:

"Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, it's important not to vote for people who proudly say they will never compromise."

"It seems our partisan debates have been taken over by a very small minority that doesn't believe in compromise."

"You have to be willing to compromise yourself even though you believe what you're trying to accomplish is really important. If you can't get the votes, if you can't make the case, you've got to take what you can get and move forward."

And she is absolutely right. If we want to get the economy and the country moving forward again, we need to vote the obstructionists out -- and the sooner it happens, the better it will be for everyone. Let's get it done in 2014 by flipping the House of Representatives.