Hillary Clinton has a plan to fix Washington. It is not a good plan.

[n2doc]

by Ezra Klein

There's a lot of chatter about what Hillary Clinton's campaign will actually be about. But the truth is, coming up with a policy agenda is the easy part. The hard part is going to be persuading voters that that agenda can pass.

The Obama years have been, for liberals, a searing lesson in the limits of the presidency. Obama made huge progress on liberal goals when he had a Democratic majority from 2009-2010. Since then, his legislative agenda has been blocked. A president without a Congress can't make much change. And the next Democratic president isn't going to have a Democratic Congress. Population patterns and gerrymandering mean the House is safely under GOP control at least into the 2020s.

Now, with Republicans nearly certain to keep control of the House, the 2016 Democratic candidates are going to have to somehow convince voters that they not only have ideas, but they have a plausible plan for getting those ideas passed into law.

The New York Times reports that at the Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women, Clinton previewed her answer. It's not very good:

She spoke at length about bipartisanship and promoted her record of working with Republicans in Arkansas and as a senator from New York. Her objective, should she run for president, would be to end partisan gridlock, she told Ms. Swisher.

"I’d like to bring people from right, left, red, blue, get them into a nice warm purple space where everybody is talking and where we’re actually trying to solve problems," Mrs. Clinton said.

And I'd like to ride a Google Bus to work in the morning. But it's not going to happen. I don't work at Google. And Hillary Clinton doesn't work in a political system where right, left, red and blue are going to meld into a warm purple.

more
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/27/8117611/hillary-clinton-bipartisanship

[geek tragedy]

1. seems like a throwaway platitude, something the candidate has to say nt

[VanillaRhapsody]

2. Exactly what I was thinking...

because her record sure says otherwise...

[AtomicKitten]

3. <snort>

Hillary on bipartisanship today:

"I’d like to bring people from right, left, red, blue, get them into a nice warm purple space where everybody is talking and where we’re actually trying to solve problems," Mrs. Clinton said.

Hillary on bipartisanship in 2008:

[GreatGazoo]

4. Phony objections

2016 Democratic candidates are going to have to somehow convince voters that they not only have ideas, but they have a plausible plan for getting those ideas passed into law.

That is not what polling data shows. In 2014 exit polls show most voters voting against the other candidate or the perceived direction that a party would lead us in

In fact, 34 percent of voters expressed that they were voting in opposition of President Obama today and 61 percent expressed that they were dissatisfied or even angry with the Republican leaders in Congress.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-exit-poll-reveals-major-voter-discontent-midterm/story?id=26688877

So for Clinton to win, she only has to be less hate-able than whoever runs against her and conservatives are already hating John E. Bush:

Invariably, the so-called reforms of the big-government Republicans call for bigger and more government, bigger and more dodgy banks, more and more power acquired for the political establishment and less and less power for the individual.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/02/06/a-president-jeb-bush-would-trample-on-reagans-legacy/

[Autumn]

5. I have no intention or desire to join those on the other side. Their ideas are dangerous and harmful

to all living things. If you take a bad idea, add it to a sort of good idea you still get a bad fucking idea. It is their way or the highway. Fuck them and fuck the purple blend. This is not political rhetoric coming from Hillary, this is what the third way wants.

[stillwaiting]

11. That's just it. If a Republican agrees to something it will be great for the .1% and

bad for the 95-99%.

Republicans will NEVER agree to it unless that is the case.

We must get enough people to realize that or the whittling down will continue.

If elected Democrats continue to scream "Bipartisanship" at this day and age our only way forward for the 99% is DOWN. They have to identify the problem, fight the problem, and fight for us. They're just not doing that (with very few exceptions).

[Fumesucker]

6. Washington is already fixed and that's the problem..

Duh..

[BP2]

7. The THIRD WAY rears it's head again. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. Thomas Paine

A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. Thomas Paine

[PatrickforO]

9. Hmm. Then we'll just have to vote in and maintain Democratic majorities in both Houses.

[jwirr]

10. I am sorry but I do not trust any politician that thinks we can fix what is wrong by working with

the present Rs. Back in the day before raygun maybe but today that idea is ridiculous. I cringe every time I hear someone suggest this. Yes, congress does not work because of partisanship but President Obama leaned over backwards for most of his presidency to get them to work with him and we got nothing. Because they do not like his color and because they work for the greedy. Why would we want to compromise with them? What good would it do?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Weren't we Instructed to vote for President Obama because he would be less polarizing?/NT

[geek tragedy]

13. I'd love to hear Obama's take on that in 2018 over a beer. nt

[stillwaiting]

15. The media will ensure we are polarized and divided no matter who the Democratic president might be.

We might as well have a Democrat that represents traditional Democratic values in the W/H since that is certainly the case. Thus that becomes a cause worthy of spending a lot of time and effort.

That President might even make lives better economically for a substantial number of Americans which will make the media's provocations less effective on at least a portion of the population. It might even be enough to give Democrats control of government for a few decades (i.e. post FDR). If Americans lives improve economically they'll know it.

[NCTraveler]

14. Ezra, who puts out some great stuff, is really going after....

the lowest common denominator with this one. This is really a piece on "Obama voters just figured politics out." Fairly condescending overall.

"The Obama years have been, for liberals, a searing lesson in the limits of the presidency."

Before Obama these voters simply had no clue. Now they know and must be catered to. The manner this is presented really is condescending. Ezra discusses this concept as if it were something new. There is actually nothing new about it at all. It also has very little to do with Clinton even though Ezra attempted to make it about Clinton. Clintons name should have no place in the article. The concept should be based on the person who makes it out of our primary. Not one bit of the general idea of the article would change if done that way.

[Orsino]

16. As platitudes go, it's a fine one.

No, nothing's getting fixed without substantial Republican support. Bipartisanship is only a pipe dream until enough of us decide that it isn't. Clinton is dropping a big hint that we might want to get off our asses and demand a functioning, responsive GOP.

At this point, it's also a safe, comforting statement of purpose. I could wish for more name-calling on her part, but I have no quarrel with the content.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. If you quarrel with a line of thinking you should state it's opposite and evaluate it.

Does this make sense?

I intend to go to Washington and not cooperate with the opposition party even though they control the House Of Representatives where all laws originate.

[Orsino]

21. Right. That would definitely not be productive.

Now, if she also had inspiring words on the subject of policy which she utterly rejects, she could be whipping us up to do better.

[CrispyQ]

17. Let me fix it:

"I’d like to bring people from right, left, red, blue, get them into a nice warm purple space where everybody is talking and where we’re actually trying to solve problems, for the 1%," Mrs. Clinton said.

[Agnosticsherbet]

18. Obama on bipartisanship...

Remarks in Chicago: "A New Beginning" October 2, 2007
"I will call for a standing, bipartisan consultative group of congressional leaders on national security. I will meet with this consultative group every month and consult with them before taking major military action."

Appoint a Republican to his cabinet.
Steve Kroft on "60 Minutes": Question: "Will there be Republicans in the Cabinet?" Obama: "Yes." Question: "More than one?" Obama: "You're not getting any more out of me."

Bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda
Obama and Joe Biden will "turn the page on the ugly partisanship in Washington, so we can bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda that works for the American people."

And I am not going to pull up links to numerous offers to negotiate with Republicans on a bipartisan basis on everything form Healthcare to Social Security.

And then there was that promise of bipartisanship form John McCain

John McCain promises bipartisan Presidency

He has pledged to make a Democrat head of the main financial regulator, the securities and exchange commission, a crucial role following last week's Wall Street collapse.
He will also move the political affairs office, containing the president's main policy-making staff, to another government building.

And then there was Romney running on bipartisanship.
Romney Claims of Bipartisanship as Governor Face Challenge

And more research would turn up promises and claims of bipartisanship form G. W. Bush, Bob Dole, G. H. W. Bush, Reagan, even Carter initiated bipartisanship when he back new Panama Canal Treaties.

Bipartisanship is promised by everyone as an appeal to centrist swing voters who are seen as placing a higher emphasis on the parts of the government working together than on ideological purity.

Hillary Clinton saw and lived through the bipartisanship of the 9o's when Republicans and the "Vast Rightwing Conspiracy" spent six years and millions of dollars investigating everything Bill and Hillary did until they impeached Bill for sex.

So, complaining about a speech on bipartisanship, as if it is unique, makes no sense.

[ND-Dem]

19. I don't want a 'purple blend". we've gotten that koolaid for years and it's killing us.

[Baitball Blogger]

22. I'm just going to be blunt.

From my standpoint, the era of cooperating with Republicans that was inspired by the Bill Clinton years allowed some incredibly irresponsible local government officials to conduct conspiratorial relationships with the most greediest cads and scoundrels you can ever imagine. What happened in that era will undermine trust in government for generations.

But I live in Florida. Maybe it's just like that no matter who's president.

[glasshouses]

23. Of course she would be bipartisan , Hell just a tiny tiny nudge to the right she could as republican