I would love to think that Congress would vote for the good of the country instead their own good. I would love to think that Paul Ryan would vote for the country's good instead of polishing his own star. Unfortunately, I do not think either one is going to happen.

If you visit washingtonpost.com/politics, you will see that Ryan has voted along party lines 94.3% of the time in the 111th Congress--far above the Republican average of 87.8% and the congressional average of 90.5%.

If we have any hope for bipartisonship, then we need to vote Paul Ryan out of office because he is part of the problem, not the solution.

Case proved. Thanks. LOL

andre_linoge- The majority of your posts express anger, hostility and negativity. You apparently need to have the last word in every type of discourse so go ahead and spew some more. That will make you feel proud of yourself, like you won some major battle, but it will only be short-lived. There is help available. Good luck.

If you hear discussion of real bipartisanship please check your pulse, chances are you are in Heaven, Hell or Purgatory.

"Is there hope for bipartisanship?"

There is a better chance of it happening in Congress than at the GazetteXtra blogs. :)

andre_linoge- You may want to look into some anger management classes. I wish you well.

The "Bi" in bipartisan is the problem! It will never work as long as there is one aisle with only two sides. There are great people in both of the two large parties, but the whole system is broken because there are just two.

This is the year we should try to change things, people! Vote only for independent candidates "just because." I challenge Russ Feingold and Paul Ryan to run as Libertarians this year. They can both win as independents, and their power would be magnified. Did anyone else notice that Wisconsin has had no say in the House of Representatives for the last few years? Ryan and Baldwin voted opposite on almost every issue, cancelled each other out, and we had no impact.

So, let's all watch that old movie "Network," yell "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore," threaten to only vote for independent candidates, and then really do it. What do you say? Maybe we could end the stupid gridlock.

I LOVE Paul Ryan and I hope he runs for President!!! We could use a real good fiscal conservative who will really have a mess to clean up. Provided it's not too late. And, I'll bet he'll have enough class not to keep blaming anybody else. It's EVERYONE'S fault.

babaloo quit whining if you think the democrats care about the middle class your mistaken. Kind of like democrats liking blacks or hispanics. The only time these people get any time is when its an election year. And you say look at the other side of the asle. Apparently you forget how the democrats used to act when Bush gave a speech. Am I the only one that sees that the biggest problem Obama has is his own party? Reid and Pelosi are killing him with all the underhanded back door deals. Its like they are reading from a differnt play book than their boss. Come on November!!!!!!

That's why we have elections. The truth is, the rules in the Senate (agreed on by both parties, years ago) are the only thing keeping us from heading in ANY direction. All the consternation over health care reform is laughable. Do some research about the health care reform proposal during the Clinton administration, and you'll see how much more centrist the current proposal really is. As others have said, the objections are really about power, and the Republicans just don't want to concede any to Obama.

"Is there hope that bipartisanship can truly help ward off fiscal calamity"?
.
How can you get bipartisan when both parties are trying to go in opposite directions? Besides, bipartisan is code for sharing the blame when everything falls appart.

I agree - I like non-partisan better too.

I've always hated that word, "bipartisan". It marginalizes independents and supporters of alternative parties, while giving undue encouragement to the duopoly currently in power. Using the word "bipartisan" implies only two viewpoints exist and, therefore, one of those two viewpoints has to be the "correct" viewpoint. I like the word "non-partisan" much better.

And, RetiredAirForce, as you can see below the masses choose their sides and continue to follow them like lemmings over the cliff.

There will never be bipartisanship; each of the two parties are more worried about who controls what, how best to maintain chairmanships, and how to get more of their members elected then dealing with issues.

You just had to look at the Republican side of the chambers when Obama was giving his State of the Union speech. They have no intentions on working with/or for anybody. I think the way they (including Paul Ryan) behave is an embarassment to the whole country. I was glad to see the Kennedy seat go to the Rep. side as it now gives them one less reason to blame the Dem. for everything. While the middle class is sinking further and further they are all behaving like two year olds.

facts101 - "left wingnuts"? LOL.....Can anyone take the "Party of 'no'" seriously when they even vote against their own legislation, amendments, ideas and nominations previously supported??? When Obama reconsiders and agrees with GOP suggestions, they STILL oppose their own initiatives! http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/gop-part...
Absolutely astounding.

The only time bipartisianship happens is when the economy is hopping. Then everyone wants to get into the action.

proartist got any more of those left wingnut sites we can go to. Some of the crap they spew is exactly the problem...radical right wing agenda. Now we are seeing the socialist left wing agenda. Give me radical over Hugo Chavez any day. Obama wants to NOW work with Republicans. Like I said before not with Reid and Pelosi calling the shots. These two idiots did it all behind closed doors. And now that there is a chance to derail their backdoor deals they want to talk....SCREW EM. Reid is history in November and so are alot more of the left wing socialist nut jobs that support Barry and his agenda. I say the hell with them hold out until November and make them beg like dogs after the election. Sure am glad all you lemmings voted for this IDIOT and his change. If I had a dog as stupid as you people I would take it to the woods and shoot it.

No chance as long as the left (liberals,progressives,democrats) continue to spread and use HATRED to achieve their goals of destroying what UNITED STATES stands for.

The minority Republicans in the Senate have forced more filibuster votes (cloture, which requires 60 of 100 votes to move the bill to a final vote) in one year than all of the 50's and 60's COMBINED. In some instances, the Republicans have forced a cloture vote, only to have the final bill pass with 80 or 90 votes! It's clear their only agenda is to obstruct and delay, yet they complain about not being heard. The founding fathers did not intend every piece of legislation to require 60 votes in the Senate.

Obamas has a meeting scheduled to talk with Republicans about health care. Watch carefully how they react. Will they bring new ideas to the table, will they acknowledge any of the conservative ideas that are already in the health care bill, or will they trot out the same ideas from the Bush administration that were rejected in the last election?

No, because it is all part of a master plan. Divide and conquer the electorate. Keep the right vs. the left and then the knuckleheads on the left like proatist and NVgrf will vote their straight tickets to beat out the knuckleheads on the right like andre. This will keep the career politicians happy and in power to waste our money, build their little empires and screw the American people. Campaign finance reform and term limits are needed and now so you sheep may someday wake up and find out you are the problem. Quit believing everything "your" party is telling you and open your eyes to reality.

The politicians aren't listening to the people? Read the comments here or on any other political article. It sounds to me like the politicians are representative of the people - divided, obstinate and unable to open their eyes or minds enough to see even a glimmer of another point of view. Now I know there are people who truly are interested in compromise but they're not the ones compelled to rant over and over again, using the same old stock lines we've heard a million times before. It's tiring and totally non-productive.

No. It politics after all.

We tend to elect those who can campaign over those who can lead. As long as congress feels that part of passing laws is to give special deals to certain states and not to others and do the bidding of lobbyists (corporations, unions, associations, etc.) we will never have a fair system. Power is intoxicating and once someone who is idealistic gets to Washington (or Madison) they forget why they are there. Just like successful people in the sports and entertainment fields, they feel they are better than everyone else and above the law. I wish it were possible for our elected officials to not lose perspective of their purpose and be fair and honest but that is rare to see.

RE: facts 101 "before the Republicans were called the "party of no" the democrats held that title." - Sorry, the GOP held that title even when they were a majority party! How soon many forget 2007-2009 under President Bush and the GOP Congress - "The Republican Senate minority today filibustered an omnibus budget bill, setting a MODERN-DAY RECORD FOR BLOCKING THE MOST LEGISLATION during a congressional session....The new report outlines every bill filibustered, vetoed or threatened to be vetoed by President Bush. Conservatives filibustered bills to end the occupation of Iraq, provide soldiers in Iraq rest time equal to their deployments, support renewable energy and grant residents of the District of Columbia representation in Congress...In just one session, a minority in Congress has prevented a mind-blowing 62 pieces of legislation from going to the floor for an up or down vote...over and over again, the uncompromising minority has thwarted the will of majorities in Congress and of the American people, holding the Senate floor hostage to a radical right-wing agenda." http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...

Obama was supposed to be more open and work with everyone. And maybe he still wants to but with Reid and Pelosi running the game there is no hope. Its funny democrats now want to work together. When before they lost Teds seat they were willing to ignore everyone but themselves. Funny how one election can ruin the socialist dreams of so many. It would be nice to see some working together since we have not seen it in 20 years in Washington. And just to remind everyone that before the Republicans were called the "party of no" the democrats held that title. I suspect we will see this title change hands again and again depending on who has the majority. Term limits are needed and an more attentive electorate.

Sure there's hope! After we replace the Republicans and Democrats with the Independents and the Green party (and/or the National Socialist Party and the Communist Party).

Alternatively, if we force term limits upon all of them at gunpoint (about the only way it will ever happen), the second or third batch run through political office might hear from their predecessors that it would pay to work with the other party while in office because after 2 terms they could easily wind up working with former colleagues in the real world.

I doubt it. Even during our struggle for independence there were those for and against. Two things brought our country together...Pearl Harbor and 9/11. I think innovation is our only way out of this mess. If we rely on politicians alone we'll fail.

Quote: "Not if you mean giving in to the socialist agenda currently being perpetrated on the American people."

I didn't know you were a blogger here, Rush. Thanks for your brilliant statement and once again for showing absolutely no desire to compromise and find a viable solution.

Not with the No No Republicans.