Bipartisanship

Bipartisanship - media talks about it all the time, rather lack of it.

What exactly is bipartisanship? Simply put, when the two parties agree on something. And media likes it when they agree on everything. At which point, why do we need the two parties?

What is the history of bipartisanship? At the beginning of American democracy, there were no parties. The elder statesmen of different view points had all gotten together for the singular purpose of gaining independence. They brought their divergent view points to bear on the Constitution of the new nation that they had ratified. Would today's media consider that bipartisanship? I doubt it.

During George Washington's second term as President, his bitter critic was none other than Thomas Jefferson who wrote under a pen name that the President had become senile and pompous like King George. It was in fact Thomas Jefferson who started a 'party' system in United States to counter the Federalists of Adams/Hamilton ideology. There was no comity among these elder statesmen. There was absolutely no 'bipartisanship' during those days.

In 1859, a Southern senator had savagely beat up an abolitionist on the senate floor. Must be some bipartisanship.

Other democracies around the world have multiple parties and factions. They all present regional biases and constant coalitions are formed around issues. And the expression "Politics make for strange bed fellows" is so apt - look no further than Israel or India.

And the two party system in US has been fairly stable and kept the pendulum from swinging widely in either direction.

As a citizen, you want these two parties to bring different view points on any given subject so that each is given due consideration and a complete review before a compromise position can be reached.

Typically, whenever there is bipartisanship, you can be assured that they have just agreed to spend your money on something you really don't care about.

Don't let the media fool you. You do not want bipartisanship - it only means one thing, bad law gets made. They have to fight and compromises have to be made in the narrowest terms.