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[Ya-ta Boy]

James Fallows put up what I think is an important post today. It explains the mechanism of the collapse of the American government in the last year. It starts with the following, then gets into the real meat:

I got this note from someone with many decades' experience in national politics, about a discussion between two Congressmen over details of the stimulus bill:

"GOP member: 'I'd like this in the bill.'

"Dem member response: 'If we put it in, will you vote for the bill?'

"GOP member: 'You know I can't vote for the bill.'

"Dem member: 'Then why should we put it in the bill?'

"I witnessed this myself."

http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2010/02/why_bipartisanship_cant_work.php#more

Fallows contends that we now have parliamentary party discipline without the advantages of that system. Our system is based on compromise--it's why we have a two house legislature and have never had real national parties (we have national coalitions of state parties). Our Electoral College also acts to (generally) force the two parties to the center.

But what we have now is an opposition party that is terrified into voting as a bloc for two reasons:

a) Initially, they were afraid to endorse Obama's agenda because it would cancel their reason for existing by discrediting their recent past and assign them to opposition status for the next few decades (mucho sympathies, but hey, they brought it on themselves).

b) The rise of the Tea Partiers (birthers, tax rebels, secessionists, white supremicists, etc) can now threaten their jobs from the right--Scozzafava anyone that doesn't meet their purity test.

From 'government isn't the solution, it's the problem' they have moved to destroy the country as long as they keep their jobs. (It isn't exactly a big leap for them, but I really doubt that is where they thought they were going when they first entered politics.)

Reports are that Europeans are asking about US political instability. Interesting development.