“Partisan sniping”
Following up on stlo’s piece on a generally good D&C editorial about the public defender scandal, this paragraph from the editorial really sticks in my craw:
Now there is a real threat that bitter partisan sniping will spread to other issues such as the future of Renaissance Square and selection of a new president at Monroe Community College. The political climate is shaping up to be just like the bad old days.
So big problem isn’t that Republicans are ramming decisions down the public’s throat. The problem isn’t that they’ve consistently lied and withheld information from the public about the project. The problem isn’t that the architect has pulled out of the project and that the project is now essentially dead and has been nothing other than a $15 million to the tax payers.
If everyone just worked together and compromised, everything would be fine, right?
The problem is always “partisan sniping.”
Doesn’t matter what goes wrong, the cause is always partisan sniping. You see, no matter what the issue, the truth is always in the middle. The people who said there were WMDs and nukes in Iraq were wrong, but so were the people who said there weren’t any, even though we haven’t found any. Sure, torture is wrong but those who oppose torture go too far as well — the truth is we need a little bit of torture. Sure running up a huge budget deficit is wrong but those who demand fiscal responsibility are too extreme as well. Yes, the Fast Ferry was a disaster but the people who demanded audits are just zealots.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
There is a right and a wrong and a good argument can have productive results. A Johnny Carson quote reminds me of the benefits of arguing, for some reason:
“Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.”
Johnny Carson
If our leaders ALWAYS agreed then who is being robbed? The best plans? The process? The people? All of the above?