Bipartisanship

MANIFESTO

Since I despise the notion of "bipartisanship" because of Senator Sanctimony's slavish devotion to it, I've been really disappointed to hear the word repeated ad nauseam in the last few days.

Anyway, I heard a great definition of the term yesterday. Gail Collins, of the New York Times, suggested that it's really got nothing to do with compromise. Rather, it's got everything to do with covering one's derriere. Bipartisanship, in Ms. Collins' view, simply means voting for (or against) something with the other party in order to escape explaining votes to voters. That is, a "bipartisan" legislator can always justify an aye vote by stating that it was such a good idea that even the other party saw its wisdom. Likewise, he can always say about a bill he votes against that even the other party thought it was a bad idea.

It's just another odious method of self-protection in the world's most exclusive club.