Keller @ Large: Voters To Blame
BOSTON (CBS) - Hold the presses, here's breaking news that will stun you – a member of Congress has told the cold, hard, sure-to-be-unpopular truth about the source of the partisan gridlock that has sent Congressional disapproval soaring to previously unimagined heights.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
Podcast
The profile in courage is House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
"The American people have every right to be angry [and] disappointed by the performance of the Congress," Hoyer told reporters in DC yesterday.
"Of course, the American people have also elected people with hard stances…. Many people voted for people who thought compromise was not something that they ought to participate in…. If elections have consequences — which I think they do — some of those consequences are getting what you vote for."
Of course, being a staunch partisan, it's a sure bet that Hoyer doesn't include any fellow Democrats in his indictment.
Oh no, it's only Tea Party Republicans who take hard stances and shun compromise.
This is nonsense, but that is how the staunch partisans who fill Washington really think.
I spent an appalling portion of my day yesterday along with other reporters questioning Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, who stopped in town to lay out some partisan spin.
Asked about the Occupy Wall Street protestors, citizens lashing out at a political establishment they feel isn't listening to them, she launched into an ode to the beauty of "organic" political activism and its expression of legitimate frustration.
Like the Tea Party folks who did the same thing, we wondered?
Oh, no, she said, her face darkening. There's no comparison.
"The Tea Party people demonize people they disagree with," she explained, before launching into extensive demonization of her Republican adversaries.
Yes, Congressman Hoyer is right, we voters have only ourselves to blame for the blind partisans we've elected.
In both parties.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
