And the corollary is that we want to think the other person would rather be nice too. That means we expect to be able to find some valid-for-both-sides compromise.
But the other side doesn't care about nice, has more fun being not-nice, and really just wants to win.
Case in point: Mark Belling subbed for Rush today, and was wondering what idiot in the administration thought it was a good strategy for Obama to claim you can keep your doc, policy, etc. He proposed that this was a mistake.
A nice person might think it wrong to lie and shameful to be caught. A not-nice person lies and feels no shame if he gets caught, as long as the lie worked. Mark Belling was suggesting that the Obama folks are on the nice side of things.
The Obama folks aren't nice. They lied purposely and for effect. A huge lie was needed, so a huge lie was supplied. The lie worked. ObamaCare is in. The republicans haven't overturned a single leftist program, they only tinker around the edges. It doesn't matter that the lie was obviously going to be caught out quickly, it only mattered that it was caught out after the law was in. That is why it was so very very important that the law not be read before it was passed.
If you believe that there is any bit of niceness in this administration, you won't believe that lying about the bill and passing it before it was read were both part of the same strategy. But it was, the strategy is to win at all costs.
Remember what Clinton said about impeachment. His staff noted that he should be impeached on the facts. His position was 'we will just have to win' on the politics. While Billy Jeff was willing to go all out to save his hide, he didn't go that far for HillaryCare. There was a limit to his psychopathy.
Obama and the folks behind him have no limits. By hook or by crook they'll stay in power and build on that power. The more leftist programs and people they install, the less effect any later Republican tinkering will have. Personally, it looks to me like the Obama team is playing an all-or-nothing end game here. It's not politics as usual.
THAT will be the fatal mistake most will make.
There cannot BE ANY COMPROMISE because to do would require surrender of your foundational principles. ALL OF THEM.
Evil is not content to co-exist with righteousness, neither will Collectivists/Progressives co-exist with Liberty and Conservatives. One must out of necessity blot out the other to exist unmolested.
Light has no part with darkness, neither does liberty have any part with tyranny.
Unless and until Americans wake up to this reality - then our doom, subjugation and elimination is inevitable.
Most however, refuse to believe in that reality, lying to themselves that we all hold the same values, just different ways to approach them.
Mass graves will be the end result of such thinking.
I agree they are playing an all or nothing game in this administration. They cannot afford to build this all powerful Fedgov and then turn the reins over to the GOP. Like the filibuster they did away with would have allowed Bush to put Gonzalez on the Supreme Court. No they have passed he point of no return and plan to rule indefinitely one way or the other. The fact that the people are catching on is a dark omen as it would force the socialists to do something drastic. The cake is baked.
We can no more compromise with those currently running our government than we can compromise with a malignant brain tumor.