Clevermonkey said:
. . .
unless we want to divide as a nation we have to make politics less about personal. We have to find a way to express our views in a way that does not debase the opposition but rather elucidates our position and works to build common ground with the other side. The only other option in the long run is Balkanization and there is nothing more the would- be dictators and theocrats of the world would like more than to see us fall apart.
" A house divided against itself shall not stand" from a great Republican... We need a lot more Lincoln in our politics, a lot lest West IMHO.
+100 Regardless of whether any of us lean left or right, the above statement is the bottom line.
AND it is what is making our Government dysfunctional. I work in DC where politicians, political appointees, and who's who are as much part of our lives as knowing the kids up & down the street, and knowing to stay away from the girl in Accounting before she had her morning coffee.
The change has been tangible in the attitudes of who YOU, the electorate, are sending here. Politicians are all extroverted and charismatic or they wouldn't be effective. The difference has been that the ones coming now care less about the MIX of voters in their home, and talk incessantly about their own egotistical singular views. Kennedy and Reagan were vocal about what their views were, but would have gotten nowhere if they had been unable to work out compromises. Current politicians cite those as great Presidents and use specific quotes, missing the big-pictures of each. Can you see the following about some of our most extreme Democrats now?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kylesmith/2013/11/08/modern-democrats-would-view-john-f-kennedy-as-a-reaganite-extremist/
Or this about somebody from the Tea Party?
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/06/11/could-ronald-reagan-lead-todays-gop/reagan-was-a-master-of-the-art-of-compromise
Congressmen and Senators become our Government's biggest problem when they will not work together. A politician's job is to represent his/her constituents, which means knowing the best compromise possible for the MIXTURE of constituents. The opposite of this is digging in their feet and not working with EVERYONE. It is wrong to focus on "what I stand for" over "best for my constituents," and we see this in the forms of seeking/laying blame, making a point, and personal attacks. You end these people to DC to join in a partnership which means they NEED to keep communicating. It's just like in a marriage, business, or any other partnership. Instead, what we get now are extremists and the result is stalemate that inhibits everybody. Even worse is that because we keep electing more & more extremists (views toward either end of a bell curve) to government, there are less and less who are like the majority of the population.
The bottom line is that ANY politician should be voted out, left or right, if they are not communicating across the aisle and seriously trying to work together. If their rhetoric is extremism and about their OWN views - my strong view is that they should not be in government of any type.
