Sen. Mark Udall’s “Bipartisanship”

How well did Democratic Sen. Mark Udall’s idea that Democrats and Republican Teabaggers sit next to each other during the 2011 State of the Union address?

By any common sense approach, it was an abject failure.  Sure the Senators intermingled for one evening.  Then the Republican Teabaggers threatened to filibuster a record number of bills, nominees for posts were needlessly held up for months on end before being overwhelmingly approved once they allowed votes to come up.  Oh, there was also a “little hiccup” in the economy when those same Teabaggers threatened to not allow a vote to increase the federal debt ceiling, which resultedin a downgrade of the US credit rating.  That’s correct: the same targets of Udall’s goodwill took our economy to the edge of disaster for purely political reasons: if the economy tanks, President Obama would be unlikely to win reelection this year.

So how does Sen. Bipartisanship respond?  By re-issuing his silly call for Senators to sit together again this year and show Americans they can get along.  The Republican Teabaggers want to shut down the government and the economy, Senator Udall.  What is it going to take for you to accept that basic truth?

Senator, if you want to prove to Americans you and your colleagues can do your jobs, pass a jobs bill; pass a federal budget on time; let the Bush tax cuts expire as designed; confirm or deny nominees but make the votes happen.  Somehow I think running a campaign ad that one of your accomplishments was calling for Senators to sit together during a speech while tens of millions of Americans remained underemployed, losing their households and savings and health care and hope for the future, won’t win over too many voters.  Do something tangible, Senator.  No more empty gestures.  No more searching for the Holy Bipartisanship Grail.

2011 SOTU Does Not Include “Global Warming” Or Even “Climate Change”

The Democrats’ overall inability to craft a strong, sustainable message on … nearly anything … could very well seal our planet’s fate for the next few thousand years.

The chief orator of our times, President Obama, will deliver a State of the Union Speech tonight and advance copies of that speech are missing critical words: “global warming” and “climate change”.  This issue will become the leading issue of our time.  I think Obama gets that on some levels.  But it has never made it to the top of his public list of “very important things” on which to work.

Thankfully, those speech copies indicate he will spend some time discussing energy and infrastructure and investment.  Again, I think on some level, he does want to make some progress on the issue.  I’m left wondering if he wants it bad enough.  Will he be known as one of the last American Presidents who issued talk on the subject, but didn’t demonstrate the amount and type of leadership required by that subject?  Only time will tell.