Wiseacre
Retired USAF Chief
Gridlock to me is when both parties share political power but cannot agree to each other's solutions for any number of reasons. I understand there will be differences of opinions, but what I do not understand is the failure on both sides to offfer up ideas or any attempt to bridge the gap. The democrats seem to have been more successful at portraying the republicans as obstructionist, when in fact they themselves have been no less unwilling to cooperate or compromise for fear of losing support for their political base. As have the GOP, particularly since the rise of the Tea Parties. Example:
It would appear to me that the fixes for Social Security are the easiest to fix, and yet no one from either party seems willing to talk about it. It'll take a bipartisan effort so neither party can blame the other for whatever is done; to me that's more than gridlock, it's cowardice. The solutions are not that complex: a little bit higher retirement age, a little bit higher ceiling on the taxable amount for SS, some kind of means test to prevent the wealthy from getting a check they don't need. Whatever, it needs to be done and everyone knows it. Bottom line, our elected reps were sent to do a job and they ain't doing it. They're more concerned with keeping their job than doing it, and we oughta hold accountable for that. Unfortunately, that isn't happening in too many places.
So - we have gridlock, but also a lack of political courage. Lacking similar grass roots support like the TPers, the democrats won't even offer a realistic budget or plans that seriously address the fiscal problems we face. They know the problems exist, everyone knows, and yet all they seem to do is demagogue whatever the repubs pass in the House. What they're doing may be good politics, but's bad leadership, and at a time when we need it. And Obama is nothloing in this regard; I thought he was supposed to change the way DC does business. And maybe he did, but not for the better. He hs not been the uniter I hoped for.
It would appear to me that the fixes for Social Security are the easiest to fix, and yet no one from either party seems willing to talk about it. It'll take a bipartisan effort so neither party can blame the other for whatever is done; to me that's more than gridlock, it's cowardice. The solutions are not that complex: a little bit higher retirement age, a little bit higher ceiling on the taxable amount for SS, some kind of means test to prevent the wealthy from getting a check they don't need. Whatever, it needs to be done and everyone knows it. Bottom line, our elected reps were sent to do a job and they ain't doing it. They're more concerned with keeping their job than doing it, and we oughta hold accountable for that. Unfortunately, that isn't happening in too many places.
So - we have gridlock, but also a lack of political courage. Lacking similar grass roots support like the TPers, the democrats won't even offer a realistic budget or plans that seriously address the fiscal problems we face. They know the problems exist, everyone knows, and yet all they seem to do is demagogue whatever the repubs pass in the House. What they're doing may be good politics, but's bad leadership, and at a time when we need it. And Obama is nothloing in this regard; I thought he was supposed to change the way DC does business. And maybe he did, but not for the better. He hs not been the uniter I hoped for.