Federal Gridlock

Well it seems voters wanted to end gridlock in washington, so they voted for those causing the gridlock ... in part because -- once again -- the GOP controlled the message machines, and in part because DEMs ran away from the President and what they accomplished in SPITE of the GOP.Could they have done more? yes - they could have campaigned on the successes (including controlling ebola) they could done more to highlight GOP obstructionism, from the government shutdown (and how proud they were of it) to the failure to pass job bills, equal pay bills, minimum wage bills, immigration bills, etc etc etcCould WE have done more? yes - we could have put ballot initiatives on the state ballots to cover a number of issues stalled in congress:1. minimum wage $10.10/hr, to match the Obama federal contract minimum wage ...
2. equal pay for work of equal value ...
3. student loans at fed rate of interest, interest currently paid or incurred recalculated ...
4. repeal Citizen's United ruling to get money out of politics ...
5. national referendum on tax reform, closing loopholes ...
6. union bill of rights -- that people have a right to join a union ...
7. add Medicare as single-payer option to the ACA ...
8. add a "none of the above" option to all representative categories ...
9. add a voters bill of rights -- that all citizens of the US have a right to vote without obstruction ... that any changes to voter laws, including all "voter ID" laws, would be phased in over a four year period, that photo IDs could be obtained at the polling station the next time a registered person votes, that registration included getting a photo ID for all new registrants, and that the "indelible ink stained thumb" system be used to prevent multiple voting until the transition period is over ...Do it as a populist movement that crosses party lines and goes around congress to find solutions.Enjoy

We have gridlock because the people to whom this matters the most do not vote.They do not vote, because the politicians take them for granted.The politicians take them for granted because they do not vote.

We will continue to have gridlock because Cruz and McConnell come from different parties and have different goals.To say nothing about GOP senators that will be running for president ...Enjoy

Yes, I am expecting two more years of gridlock.

That's not a bad thing.

A government that taxes us dry and does absolutely nothing is "not a bad thing"?

A friend just told me. The dem party is like Microsoft. Everyone pretends to be against, but at the end of the day almost everyone is in favor of their products.I know people that are vocal about wanting Microsoft to die, and yet they own everything Microsoft. They make a living using Microsoft software.Look at the results of what people want. Minimum wage increase, ACA, and everything else that the dems fight for. And yet people voted for the rep party, e party that is against all those things.

It's because the Reps are pro Jesus.

If they are gridlocked, and can't make matters worse, that is not a bad thing.

Being gridlocked means they can't do anything.And if all they can do is nothing or worse, then what are we paying them for?Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

A stopped clock is right twice a day but that's not an excuse not to fix it.

The government doing nothing is better than them being very active.

"It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for." - Will Rogers

If you dislike working government, why don't you move to one of those failed states in West Africa.They've got plenty of Ebola and Islam to share with you.

I'm using linux to write this post.As for the dems - I don't like them at all. They seem to have cornered the market on bungling incompetence. Yet I usually vote for them, because the Republicans are completely unfit to govern.

We've already got a pee-poor working government right here. Using your logic, wouldn't it be you who needs to move?'Like it or leave it' arguments are stupid regardless of whether liberals are conservatives make them.