Yes, we can see what Republicans think about bipartisanship.

President Obama really wants to pass an economic stimulus bill and can do so just with the simple majority of Democrats in both houses. However, he would like some Republican votes while doing it. So, he talks with Republican members, waters down the bill, takes out many things that Democrats would like to see included (such as spending on the infrastructure), puts in more tax cuts (which seems to have been shown during the Bush years to not really help the economy or anyone not directly getting said tax cuts), and he STILL doesn’t get any Republican support. The bill passed the House easily but got ZERO Republican votes. Jesus.

These Republicans seem willing to marginalize themselves. Democrats don’t have to do it; Republicans will do it for them. They have absolutely no idea how to NOT play politics on any subject that comes up. That’s all they know how to do. John McCain was really criticizing a part of the original bill about making high-speed wireless internet access more available. Yet, what did Presidential Candidate John McCain support during his campaign? Investing in high-speed wireless internet access! Games! That’s all they are doing! Fiddling while Rome burns!

I guess I should not have expected the Republicans to have learned anything from being trounced in the last two elections. But I certainly hope that President Obama has learned something. You aren’t going to get help from the Republicans, so you might not as well even try.