One learns in any American Government class that “Politics is the Art of Compromise”!
But, apparently, the Republican Party in Congress and in the states that have Republican Governors, believes just the opposite!
Remember that the Constitution came about through compromises in 1787 in Philadelphia!
Remember that Henry Clay, the greatest member of Congress in American history, promoted compromise as essential for progress!
Bipartisanship has been an important part of much of American history, as for instance, the bipartisanship demonstrated in Congress during the Cold War period, supporting Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower in their reaction to the Soviet threat!
When compromise has not worked, we had the Civil War, which killed 620,000 Americans!
When compromise has not worked, we have seen the stalemate and gridlock that has paralyzed government, and led to inability to take care of the needs of the nation!
Republican Governors have declared war on the concept of compromise, pushing many states in reverse on basic labor rights and human rights!
So the future looks gloomy, as the Republicans have continued to make clear that they will use every method to stop any part of the Obama agenda!
The battle over the 2012 national budget and the national debt is going to be an historic struggle, with no certainty that anything positive will occur! And the future in many states is also gloomy!