CONGRESS and the NEED TO COMPROMISE from Michael J. Gerson, former head speechwriter for George W Bush: "One suspects that the whole enterprise (of Republicans and Democrats having to make concessions to get things done) would have pleased James Madison, the architect of the Constitution. The American system of checks and balances is often not very pretty. But it still seems to work, when both sides are willing – however reluctantly – to accept some compromises in the end. Yet there is a small but rising element of the Republican Party that is dedicated to fighting the idea of compromise... Their goal is to build support and fundraising among conservatives, embarrass mainstream leaders, and take down what they call the Republican “establishment.” Their objective is to purify the party, not help run the country. ...Our Madisonian system is designed for compromise. The broad distribution of power among and within the branches of government means that action requires consensus. Almost nothing can happen without some minimal level of reluctant agreement. Those who view compromise as an evil would make our constitutional order impossible. Dealing with our long-term debt crisis, for example, will require a series of difficult compromises, involving benefit restructuring and revenues. It is one thing to drive a hard bargain – a normal part of our constitutional order. It is another thing to declare all bargaining to be a vice. That is not the evidence of principle; it is the path to paralysis. - See more at: capitalcommentary.org/debt-ceiling/our-system-designed-compromise#sthash.KfSluf7K.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:42:31 +0000