Is the era of new politics over? 

Via the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.

snip

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Heh, I'd write "sittin in a tree..." but I don't think he'd go for that. Diss me all you want, but just try to take down the Mighty Glennzilla:

Those claiming that Obama has masterfully depicted the Republicans as arrogant obstructionists by extending the hand of compromise should review this latest Rasmussen Reports poll, which finds the public split almost evenly on whether they support the Obama/Democratic economic recovery package, with a clear trend towards increased opposition.
This is what happens every single time: the Democrats do everything possible to "accommodate" the Republican position and then get attacked anyway (they voted in large numbers for the Iraq War in and then got attacked for being soft on Terror in 2002; they voted for virtually every Bush "Terrorism" policy and the same thing happened, etc.). Here, they did everything possible to change their bill to please Republicans and nothing is happening except full-scale GOP opposition accompanied by a constant barrage of GOP attacks against them as big-spending, reckless, wealth-transferring liberals.
Ultimately, the success of this program will be measured by whether it produces successful results, so why shouldn't Democrats use their majority to enact the policy they think is most likely to achieve that? That's true on this issue and in general.

H/T and hugs to Bo.

Bipartisanship, perhaps an oxymoron already, brings us an apparent oxymoron: "Drilling for Clean Energy" from Representatives Jim Marshall and Roscoe Bartlett, writing in the WaPo:

...a strategic plan to use the remaining value of our federally owned oil and natural gas reserves to fund a clean, affordable and independent energy future for America, a goal worthy of short-term environmental concessions and risks.

Their idea is to open up ANWR and offshore for drilling, but under changed financial terms that would capture more of the revenues for the federal government, and ensure that the money goes to develop solar, wind, nuclear, and "better" biofuels.

[Welcome, Crooks & Liars readers!]

Why is it that Barack Obama’s rhetoric sounds so strangely familiar?

Oh, I remember. There was this charming young fellow from Arkansas – what was the name of that town? Anyway, he had this awfully nice idea, about a “third way” alternative to right-left partisanship. I wonder what became of him and that darling wife of his....

Wait, yes, it’s all coming back to me. She's pursued that third-way agenda herself, in the Senate and in a run for the presidency.

And so has the man from Honolulu/Indonesia/The South Side. (If this path doesn’t lead to the White House, it certainly qualifies him for one of those “New Sanfrankota” ads.)

So, which of our frontrunners do I prefer? To use the essential word of Obama’s generation: whatever.

At the risk of unleashing an Ice-nine-scale attack of meta-ness, here is how I broached the topic of bipartisanship with the folks at Democratic Underground...

Let's talk about Obama, Hillary, and "Bipartisanship"

For the record, I'm not trying to start a flame war.

But I'm going to talk honestly and share three links (at the end) I'd like you to check out.

Put simply, this talk about "bipartisanship," "post-partisanship," and "reaching across the aisle," has got to stop.

Pop quiz: who said these things in the wake of the 2006 Midterm election?

"...we need to put aside our partisan differences"
"The election said they want to see more bipartisan cooperation."
"The truth of the matter is, the American people are sick of the partisanship and name-calling."

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Welcome to the first episode of "The Sorry News," a series of occasional commentaries about false narratives in today's America.

Suggestions for future topics are most welcome! What dubious memes, truisms, and such get your goat???

Today's topic is the oft-praised quality of "Bipartisanship."

Transcript:   Read more…