Impasse in Congress (to extent its real) simply signals to people that there are not enough votes for any proposal to pass. When that happens, people weigh in and help unstick the process by creating new external environment. If not enough, impasse continues until elections.
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But our modern conception of politics doesn’t allow for such legitimate impasses. Instead, gridlock signals presence of illegitimate forces that must be crushed for progress to resume.
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Common view today is that impasses can be overcome by rational discussion. That’s because we implicitly assume a consensus opinion existing somewhere just out of reach. More facts will illuminate the right way for those foolish obstructionists, etc.
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From this perspective, it makes sense why a three week CR and more time to negotiate could work.
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But politics is sometimes about brute force (figuratively more than literally in America thankfully). People disagree. Otherwise, no need for politics. Politics is how we resolve those disagreements to extent needed to live in society. When sides evenly matched, struggle ensues.
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That struggle is key. It’s the secret to the American experiment in self-government (Federalist 10). And its institutionalization pursuant to the Constitution (Federalist 51) is the key to ensuring that it remains a success for generations to come.
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This is the root problem today. The body politic indenture conflict as a disease that must be eradicated. But that disease is what keeps the body politic alive and healthy in the first place.
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This is how our politics today is unlike similar contentious periods in American history.
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Communicating across our differences is the challenge of our time. But to do that, we must first acknowledge the legitimacy of those differences. Participation in the political sphere requires the equality of participants in that sphere.
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From this perspective, it becomes clearer that the true purpose of our institutions/government is to provide a place where political conflict can be legitimized and compromises reached. They’re where we engage in debate and argue. They aren’t place for calm scientific discussion.
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The current shutdown is a symptom of a lack of regular order and the fact that Rs dared Ds to shut down the government. It would be against Senate rules to attach DACA and send back over to House, but McConnell could have allowed amendment vote on FISA expansion bill.
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