Haggling involves a bottom line. There must always be a low to which you are not willing to descend.
We need a party, be it Republican or otherwise, that recognizes the bottom when they see it, and refuse to go.
I agree. None of this makes me happy. Not at all. I am not going to worry too much because most of what is happening is just status quo. We aren’t inacting terrible new laws or ‘comprehensive reforms’ bound to fail and cost lots of money along the way. I think we knew that 2010 was about stopping the bleeding. If Obama chose to go the route that Clinton did and moderate and start passing some Republican ideas to help get re-elected, that would be one things. They chose to do the opposite during this congress. Block everything. Negotiate nothing. Pursue no measures to address our problems. They aren’t even passing a budget.
At times, the weakness of the House GOP makes me sick to my stomach. At other times, I realize there aren’t many fights worth having in this environment because there is no opportunity to make major progress with the legislation.