Divided We Stand

nationaljournal.com:

Our polarized Congress is starting to look more and more like a parliament at odds with the nation’s constitutional system.

Read the whole story: nationaljournal.com

Comments

[pepper1311]

12:50 PM on 02/27/2012

Let's start by every state getting back one dollar for every dollar sent in via taxes. My state gets back $ .90 for every buck sent in. The red states all with out excretion recieve more the a dollar. This way rash pays there own way, sorry, Alaska, South Carolina, Georgia, Misissipi, Alabama , Florida, Noth Carolina, both Dakotas, Missouri, Texas ,Arazona tired all the rest. Look it up the blue states are getting screwed and number one is Calafornia at .69 per dollar.

[lrobb]

03:37 AM on 02/28/2012

The corollary being the federal government can no longer enact unfunded mandates which states can't afford. Not to mention states should no longer be able to mandate things counties and local communities must obey.

[pepper1311]

08:30 AM on 02/28/2012

Funny, it was all Republicans who passed and signed unfunded mandates. Go back to Nixon and see.

[Azterix]

12:39 AM on 02/27/2012

That was a comprehensive piece by the National Journal ... . If there should ever be another "civil war," the Democrats would win by Providence. Freedom would trump religious ideologies that is now being driven bythe Right.

[Randolph Greer]

01:32 PM on 02/26/2012

I have been advocating that we split the country into two separate parts since the 2010 election. I knew exactly what was going to happen and it did. The separation between RED THINKERS and BLUE THINKERS is complete now. They have no common ground on which they can implement a policy of any kind. And this, I might add, is a wonderful thing !!!! Just imagine living in a Blue State where homosexuality is legal and accepted. All women are respected and have access to birth control and the full freedom to control their bodies and earn equal wages. Where Blacks and all other people of color do not face racism each day and have representation to match their numbers. Where we all have a single payer system of health care and public education is open and affordable to all through college. Where people are paid a living wage regardless of the job they do. Where corporations are prevented from being people and have no rights except those the public gives them temporarily through a charter. Where the Chamber of Commerce is made up of citizens and not businesses. And , in the Red States Republicans don't have to accept, or do, or provide any of these things. What a wonderful world !!!!

[lrobb]

01:53 PM on 02/26/2012

Based on your post, yes, there is no other possible alternative but partition. Not because there is such a great divide in what Conservatives and Liberals really want as outcomes, but because of the misinformation, fearmongering and media manipulation which has brought us to this point.

It helps to remember that controversy invariably sells advertising whether on the air, in print or on the web.

A period of separation where Conservatives and Liberals can experiment in peace with solutions to our economic and social problems would not be a bad thing.

[Randolph Greer]

05:16 AM on 02/27/2012

What so many do not understand is that Politics is the only thing that should ever concern a human being living on this planet. Of course, the securing of your spirit and soul for eternity is of ultimate concern to the spiritual among us, but with respect to this material physical world and everything that happens to us and our families and all we know, Politics is the ONLY THING that EVER MATTERS. There is no way that the media or anyone else can elevate its importance. Political controversy MEANS LIFE AND DEATH literally. Every day of your life is directly affected by it. Nothing escapes it. And you ignore it at your peril and the peril of others. You should think of nothing else, all the days of your life on Earth. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

[AnotherAngle]

02:35 PM on 02/26/2012

Good luck with that. There aren't enough "blue thinkers" to support all your freebies.

[splashy]

04:14 AM on 02/27/2012

Actually, population wise, there are more "blue thinkers" than there are "red thinkers." It's just that the conservatives are much louder.

[lrobb]

01:09 PM on 02/26/2012

If you want an eye-opening experience, google "the divided states of America" and start reading. There are any number of pundits out there--several of whom have blogged on HuffPost--who think divvying up the country along ideological lines would be a positive relief.

There are also many ideological outliers, to be polite, who can be safely ignored unless you are doing research for a political novel. The responses to the various blogs are highly instructive.

Until I read Bill Bishop's "The Big Sort" back in early 2009, partition would never have crossed my mind. Now I think it is probably inevitable. There will be a polite and civil divorce with joint custody of defense, international relations and certain necessary treasury functions.

Every ideologically similar region made up of several states or parts of states will control its own economic and social destiny. Nothing else is possible given the prevalence of the web and 24/7 partisan news coverage.

Congress has an approval rating lower than the IRS, but most of us still love our own representatives. We just loathe everyone elses. We are not going to change anyone's heart or mind with either ordinance or legislation. So, we are come to a point where we have only one alternative to perpetual gridlock--a Constitutional Convention.

We can still be called the United States, but in order to preserve the Union we will have to give a lot of latitude as to the meaning of "union."

[Azterix]

12:58 AM on 02/27/2012

The Red states would have to pay back all the money the Blue states (especially the Dixie South) have given to them since Reconstruction. After the Civil War, the former Confederacy states got some nerves to have kept antagonizing the rest of the Union.

[lrobb]

06:39 AM on 02/27/2012

It appears you do not favor partition since you have thrown up an impossible barrier to it. Do you think a hopelessly divided and gridlocked government and the continuation of transfer payments to some red states is preferable to a clean break?

[pepper1311]

12:41 PM on 02/27/2012

Please look up what each state recieces back in federal taxes. All the so called red states recieve more then sent in, blue states recieve less the a dollar. California is the biggest looser at .69 for every dollar sent in. Alaska is at $ 1.53 for every dollar sent in. I would be for equal money for all, dollar sent in a dollar returned to states.( taxpayers)

[lrobb]

12:38 AM on 02/28/2012

This has absolutely nothing to do with my post. Most of those states which receive more transfer payments than they send in to Washington do so only because the federal government mandates programs without funding them that those states would not have put in place given their druthers.

I would prefer we were all allowed to keep the money we earn--either by the sweat of our brow, brains or investment acumen. The only things our federal taxes should be funding are defense and international relations.

Why should states have to send money to Washington in the first place?

[LaurieAnn]

12:47 PM on 02/26/2012

I have felt 'divided' since the Reagan administration.  That was the beginning of the class war propagated by the wealthy against the rest of us.

[lrobb]

01:25 PM on 02/26/2012

Yet so many look at the Reagan Revolution as the first time average citizens took their lives back from an overreaching federal government.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

04:24 PM on 02/26/2012

I don't know what Reagan your thinking of, but the guy I voted for raised my taxes 11 times.

[splashy]

04:16 AM on 02/27/2012

Agreed. The long con being run by the Republicans was started a little while before Reagan. That's why he was elected. Anyone interested in what the Republican long con is can read about it here:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

[LaurieAnn]

11:27 AM on 02/27/2012

Thank you for the link. I will certainly read this article and save it.

[Oletech71]

12:38 PM on 02/26/2012

To make a long story short the people elected a president that promised to unite us. Now we read an article about how divided we are. The president's most recent attempt to enhance his vote totals actually turned women against men. You simply cannot become more divisive than that. He failed, period!

[anon004]

12:44 PM on 02/26/2012

And the Teabagger Republicans had were innocent bystanders? Project much?

[kimpjones]

12:50 PM on 02/26/2012

Turning women against men? Sorry, the only thing President Obama did was to try and help women. And the men that are against women are the men that feel a woman's place is barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.

[Oletech71]

01:03 PM on 02/26/2012

Thank you so much for proving my point . I couldn't have done a better job myself!

[AnotherAngle]

03:03 PM on 02/26/2012

You know what's so amusing. For so many years, women have fought for the right to be EQUAL to men, and then some woman gets online and says Obama is helping women.

If you're so strong, why do you need his help? I don't see Obama supporting viagra for men or VASECTOMY support.

Make up your mind. Are women strong enough to take care of themselves or not?

[Tricia W]

12:25 PM on 02/26/2012

I thought about writing a post
for what CONgress is doing
for the economy
but there was nothing to write about.

[GV97]

12:13 PM on 02/26/2012

We could do PLENTY with a Democratic House of Representatives and a 60 vote majority
in the Senate AND the re-election of President Obama.
Just remember all you doubters what was handed to President Obama when he stepped into
the Oval Office.
I don't buy "fear".... I buy success for our great country.

[VikingQuest]

11:55 AM on 02/26/2012

Here's how far we've come in America:

In Midway, Ga., a 14-year-old girl and her 10-year-old sister sold lemonade from their front yard. Two police officers bought some. But the next day, different officers ordered them to close their stand.

Their father went to city hall to try to find out why. The clerk laughed and said she didn’t know. Eventually, Police Chief Kelly Morningstar explained, “We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade and of what the lemonade was made with.”

It made me want to try to jump through the legal hoops required to open a simple lemonade stand in New York City. Here’s some of what one has to do:

— Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk’s Office (must be done in person)

— Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number.

— Complete 15-hr Food Protection Course!

— After the course, register for an exam that takes 1 hour. You must score 70 percent to pass. (Sample question: “What toxins are associated with the puffer fish?”) If you pass, allow three to five weeks for delivery of Food Protection Certificate.

— Register for sales tax Certificate of Authority

— Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. Must bring copies of the previous documents and completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.

[VikingQuest]

11:57 AM on 02/26/2012

Then, at least 21 days before opening your establishment, you must

arrange for an inspection with the Health Department’s Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation. It takes about three weeks to get your appointment. If you pass, you can set up a business once you:

— Buy a portable fire extinguisher from a company certified by the New York Fire Department and set up a contract for waste disposal.

— We couldn’t finish the process. Had we been able to schedule our health inspection and open my stand legally, it would have taken us 65 days.

http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/open-67962-lemonade-america.html#ixzz1nVXo9pnj

[ErnestineBass]

12:04 PM on 02/26/2012

Just as well. No one would have purchased your koolaid anyway.

[majorwiblit]

12:16 PM on 02/26/2012

Only in Americka

[lrobb]

12:20 PM on 02/26/2012

Attribute: John Stossel.

Any community, state or other government which discourages entrepreneurship in its children will reap the rewards twenty years later when those children become dependent on social services or working for others instead of creating jobs.

[hawhite2000]

03:02 PM on 02/27/2012

So because some child can't open a lemonade stand as children they will end up dependent on government?

[Saxton]

11:47 AM on 02/26/2012

Well if the Republicans gain both houses and the presidency then everyone who votes Republican or is too lazy to vote should take careful note of if, where, and what type of jobs are created. There is a lot at stake right now, the current and future of SS, Medicare and Medicade, unemployment, deregulation of the financial industry, gutting or elimination of the EPA, more people unable to attain health care, increased outsourcing of US jobs, increased taxes on the middle class while more loop holes and decreased taxes on the rich, and more government interference with our personal lives while our civil liberities are further weakened. Many Democrats are just as guilty and need to go, but it is time for the American people to stop being lazy and stop believing the lies that both parties are perpetuating because they are just playing us for fools while they are busy enriching themselves and their friends.

[VikingQuest]

12:01 PM on 02/26/2012

"Well if the Republicans gain both houses and the presidency"

That won't happen so stop worrying about it, when this country has 1 party in power . . . it's when we're at our worst.

[ErnestineBass]

12:06 PM on 02/26/2012

For once, you're right.

January, 2001 through January, 2007 being a case in point.

[SportyJim]

07:52 PM on 02/27/2012

Sure glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. Whichever party is in power either spends their time trying to reverse the former party's laws, or quickly ram their agenda down our throat. Of course, things are so bad today that neither party wants to compromise to accomplish something good for all.

[edad97]

11:43 AM on 02/26/2012

Put 2 aspirin between your knees any everything will work out.

[AnotherAngle]

11:51 AM on 02/26/2012

Good idea.

"Children living in female-headed families with no spouse present had a poverty rate of 46.9 percent, about four times the rate of children in married-couple families (11.6 percent)."

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11/ib.shtml#Overview

[bebby37]

11:53 AM on 02/26/2012

Why don't you apply to be Ricky's running mate and we can defeate both of you at the same time and the world will be a better place.

[Paula Merenz]

12:03 PM on 02/26/2012

These are the statistics that make me want "family values". It's the best environment for children to be raised.

[BMHVR]

11:35 AM on 02/26/2012

I know it is easier for lefties to find an excuse but the fact is few Americans are progressive, and even fewer are radical progressive (i.e socialists or com munists liek the many posters here). You can run $100 million worth of commercial tomorrow and you still won't get enough votes to gain real power in Washington. Take a good look at Washington today. This is as progressive as it will ever get in your lifetime. Center-a-little-left is all you'll ever get. Its not corporate money but that the citizens of this center-right nation just don't agree with you. Just because you pretend they do or you speak for the 99% doesn't automatically make it so.

[anon004]

12:49 PM on 02/26/2012

"i.e socialists or com munists liek the many posters here"

You wouldn't know a socialist or a communist if one bit you on the a*s.

[BMHVR]

01:53 PM on 02/26/2012

You are right, I won't feel the bite from a group that is so thoroughly insignificant.

[anon004]

02:47 PM on 02/26/2012

"Why not? It is a lot of fun to wake people up to reality thereby allowing them to see the futility of their way. BTW, my own parents barely escaped communism with their lives so it is quite personal for me to be able to point out how destructive and silly that ideology really is.

If you honestly believe that the people who comment on this site actually support or even have anything in common politically with either the communists in the Soviet Union, China, or Eastern Europe, or wherever your parents are from, you're the one who is silly. You sound like you believe anyone to the left of Mussolini is a communist. Too bad your parents never took ten minutes to explain to you what communism actually is.

[AnotherAngle]

03:20 PM on 02/26/2012

Communists need a government that tells them what to do and pays for what it thinks they need.

Sounds like liberals to me.

[BMHVR]

06:52 AM on 02/27/2012

Too bad you weren't educated enough to know all dam breaks start with a small leak? That's my dad's words and he has spent lots of time explaining why. Every right and dollar you surrender to the governmentt is one step closer to communism. Your side's so-called "common good" and "collectivism" are just excuses to extend that sort of control. I am pretty Mousolini used "common good" as an excuse to do what he did. The left and. He right fringe are actually the same thing, namely, surrendering all control to the government which is basically what people like you want. Well, you will never get it here in America where the majority of people have a little bit of Ron Paul DNA in terms of hving a limit on how much government control we'll tolerate.

[michaelnel4449]

11:35 AM on 02/26/2012

Come on voters, raise your level of thinking. The two party system is the problem, it has always been the problem. Only now it is at the worst level that it can be, both sides won't work together and they simply hate each other like two children fighting in the back seat of a car. There is a solution to this mess, there are actually two ways to clean the slate and remove the bickering and corruption in one swift move. 1. Simply create a movement to vote out every single incumbent in the house and senate, vote them ALL out and start with new people. Or #2. Create a movement to recruit enough honest, educated, business type (no attorneys) people to run as independents for the US house and senate in every state, this way we remove ALL corruption in 2-3 election cycles. This way we can start with new faces, new ideas and begin the work of solving the nations real problems in a timely manner..and send the lobbyists to the unemployment line.

[VikingQuest]

11:38 AM on 02/26/2012

"Create a movement to recruit enough honest, educated, business type (no attorneys) people to run as independents for the US house and senate in every state"

Love the no Lawyers part . . .

What do people expect when they elect career liars?

[michaelnel4449]

02:58 PM on 02/26/2012

Please share this idea with everyone you know, sooner or later it has to catch on....

[Paula Merenz]

12:05 PM on 02/26/2012

Love this line of thinking. Thank you.

[michaelnel4449]

02:57 PM on 02/26/2012

Please tell everyone you know, sooner or later it has to catch on.....

[marcdostl]

11:30 AM on 02/26/2012

This a beautiful thing, and demonstrates The Genius of the FFs. It protects us from radicials like Obama, who would luv to make EVERYBODY dependent on him.
While he becomes THE KING of Debt and Deficit, he now has secured 50% of the population's vote. It will be very difficult to roll it back. See Greece or Ask an Addict.

[ErnestineBass]

12:08 PM on 02/26/2012

Back to your tub, Diogenesian.

[smp276dp]

11:29 AM on 02/26/2012

The party of morals and family have been waging this war. They say the left is fighting againt the rich. While they protect those same interests. Can one person any one person tell me.
When did Jesus become pro rich, and pro war?