Regardless of your position on anything, refuse support to anyone who isn’t willing to deal with the other side. And start dealing with the other side yourself.
Maybe over some tea.
We tend to think of politics in two dimensions — left and right.
The Nixon Thesis of Conflict has accustomed us to this. We can’t put that genie back in the bottle, we can’t close Pandora’s Box.
Medievalism is not an option… the real issue before us, the issue that has led 10% of the Congress to suddenly up and walk, is whether compromise is possible.
Efforts over the last few Congresses to find common human ground between Democrats and Republicans, between liberals and conservatives, have been unavailing. These people don’t eat together, they don’t play together, they don’t socialize with one another at all. They barely acknowledge the others’ humanity. They have become so short-term oriented that the idea of doing the peoples’ business is foreign.
This is most true among Republicans, from the top on down. Republicans will not negotiate in good faith, they will not come to any agreement on anything, they filibuster even routine business on the flimsiest grounds, but more important they have absolute support in this from their grassroots.
It’s time to understand what’s really going on. These people are frightened.
They see the country changing, they see the pace of change accelerating everywhere, and they’re scared.