Bipartisan Baloney

I am getting tired of all of the talk of unity and bipartisanship. Sure, I wish that the country was more united. But, it isn't! Suppressing opposing dialouge isn't going to unite the country. There is nothing wrong with an opposition clearly stating why they oppose current policies. In fact, anything less seems cowardly. Ostensibly projecting an image of bipartisanship is a dangerous way to conceal the real effects of policies. The country needs opposing parties to challenge the ideas from the other side. The thing that needs to change is the tone of the discourse. Opposition does not have to be nasty. People ought to be able to state their opposition to the war in Iraq without comparing Bush to Hitler and without fear of being labelled as traitors. Democrats especially, of which I am not one, need to get their act together quickly so that they can provide intelligent opposition of ideological conservative policies. Otherwise, they will be steamrolled by the Republican majority. Democrats need to find a voice, and refuse to accept the notion that the dialogue needs to take place on Republican turf. I am also hoping to see more debate within the Republican party. I have high hopes for Sens. John McCain, Arlen Specter, Kit Bond and Chuck Grassley. These individuals seem to have a record of opposing the extreme conservative agenda that the Bush administration pushes. Now that the election is over, I am hoping that they feel more free to state their opposition to some of the policies of the administration, especially with regard to gigantic tax cuts and fiscal management.

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