The reaction to Judd Gregg's decision to back out of becoming President Obama's secretary of commerce really makes you wonder about the understanding of bipartisanship. The shortcomings of the media fetishzation of bipartisanship has been on display for weeks. When the House of Republicans passed the stimulus package, ABC did not check or talk about the content of the stimulus package, but instead talked about what President Obama's failure to win over a single Republican vote.
Reporters always think that Democrats should reach out to the Republicans at any cost. But, when the Republicans turn their backs on them then it is the Democrats fault even though they tried.
Even after the Democrats included billions of dollars of tax cuts to please the Republicans they were not satisfied with that. With the economy in the shape its in you would think the Republicans would feel sympathetic to the issues at hand.
A CNN poll released this week found "that three out of four poll respondents said Obama is doing enough to cooperate with Republicans in Congress, but only 39 percent feel that congressional Republicans are cooperating enough with the president.
It was not a surprise when Judd Gregg who was elected secretary of commerce decided to resign. Many felt that he knew all along that he was going to to resign. His reason for resigning was that he is a conservative Republican and that President Obama is a Democrat. Well, before he said yes didn't he know that the president was a Democrat. So now maybe the reporters will realize that those who are falling short of bipartisanship is the Republicans.
President Obama has made a sincere effort in bipartisanship by offering Gregg the job of secretary of commerce. But, on the other hand Gregg's decision to resign just showed the people what the Republicans are all about. They are determine to try and make life difficult for the new president. After eight years of turmoil and seeing how this country has suffered and continues to suffer you would think the the Republicans would want change.
"And with the media rigging the game this thoroughly, it's no wonder that Obama's attempts to bipartisanship have brought little in return from Republicans.
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What a great blog! If only someone in the media could see the marketing possibilities in pointing the finger at the real villains in this story rather than the president, the old fall-back position, then maybe the partisan system would have a chance of changing. Thankfully, Americans appear to see the real story--namely, that Republicans are mortified about the horrific job they have done the past eight years, and think that if they block enough legislation, they can block any progress, thus claiming to their constituents that, "It's not our fault." The media has a responsibility to report on BOTH sides of this issue. And to somehow suggest that a Republican with a chip on his shoulder resigned because Obama didn't reach out enough to him is preposterous! Good riddance, I say! Let him creep back to his other stuck-in-the-mud Republican cohorts in the Senate and block some more legislation or sing that tired old song about tax cuts--at least until the media shines some light on a party that needs to realize that there are people in the world other than the very wealthy. I am still VERY bitter over the last eight years...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wendy, great blog post! Sometimes I wonder if the media is biased on certain issues such as this one. Republicans are to blame for why the country is in the state it is in in regards to the economy and other things. What the Republicans need to do is to admit they made mistakes and cut their losses. The way I see it, our domestic enemy is the Republican Party and anyone who supports it. I am bitter over the Bush years. This is coming from a registered Democrat. Once again, great post!
ReplyDeleteThat's the reason America is in this mess now and that's why other countries are laughing at us now. Even in diffucult times, the republicans are so stubborn that they're not even trying to listen to Obama (who seems pretty bright to me). I think America needs to hear an old pharse that always seems to be true, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall". You would think that people would learn by now. Great Post Ms. Diane
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