The levels of both vitriol and stupidity in politics these days all across the United States continue to amaze us.
The events in Wisconsin, Indiana, and elsewhere have begun to go far beyond farce, and squarely into the realm of "What the hell are they doing?", and "Who the hell do they think they are?"
For example, in order to further discourage the remaining protestors inside the Wisconsin statehouse from staying any longer, the Wisconsin governor had the ground-floor windows to the capitol welded shut on Monday - so that food and other supplies couldn't be brought in to the protestors. The governor also had the Wisconsin State Patrol block access to the statehouse building, both of which are unconstitutional actions by the governor according to his own state's laws.
We don't see what's so complex about understanding the task at hand at virtually all levels of government in order to properly fulfill both the needs and the wants of the people and the fiscal responsibilities of the government.
In a word, it's called "compromise."
Indiana's GOP legislative leaders, while still being slightly less arrogant than their Wisconsin counterparts, are doing something some Republicans across the country still refuse to do these days: talking with their counterparts in the other party. While their legislature is not yet officialy negotiating, the lines of communication are open between the two sides - and that's a starting point.
New York City Mayor Bloomberg, long known to be fiscally conservative, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Monday that - while not saying what all of us would like to hear - proves he's willing to negotiate with the unions in his city.
President Obama continues to display his leadership on compromise. He spoke at a bipartisan meeting of governors yesterday and announced that his administration is now supporting the Wyden-Brown waiver program for states on health insurance reform - something that truly tackles issues Republicans have said are a concern to them.
Back in Wisconsin, the governor is still giving ultimatums that in the end, he can't enforce.
We're aware that some politicians have dug themselves an ideological bunker, one they insist they're going to stay in until they die or completely get their way. For those partisans who support that kind of political zealotry, any officeholder who deviates from the proscribed dogma is blasted and trashed in the blogosphere, in public - and in the next primary election.
For voters who haven't yet lost their sanity, the actions of Wisconsin's Republican governor continue to turn them off. In the latest polling done in Wisconsin, even Republicans are turning away from their out-of-control chief executive.
We think it's important to note that we think everyone has some redeeming value, even if that value is small. No one is completely worthless. We also think every American has an incredibly valuable role of being a well-informed, well-educated citizen.
That being said, if you or the politician you support can't seem to remember that compromise is the soul of good government, then - as an American citizen - you really aren't worth a hill of beans.
