Karen Tumulty’s latest article starts with a telling anecdote from a meeting between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans. He said he thought it would make sense to look at limiting medical malpractice awards, a big health care bugaboo for conservatives. So what could they put on the table in the way of constructive compromise?
What, he wanted to know, did the Republicans have to offer in return?
Nothing, it turned out. Republicans were unprepared to make any concessions, if they had any to make.
I think it makes a certain amount of sense for a battered minority party to say to hell with bipartisan compromise, now it’s your turn to govern by your ideas and pay the consequences when they fail. But that’s not really what’s happening here. Instead the minority whines that White House isn’t doing enough to compromise, but doesn’t actually want any kind of compromises.
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