The normally divided U.S. Senate moved forward on Wednesday with a new, bipartisan agreement designed to ease partisan gridlock.
If lawmakers succeed under the accord in coming days to pass a bill to upgrade a federal child-care program, it could serve as a model to approve other legislation. But it’s unlikely to lead to any sudden deals on stalled major legislation.
“I’m hopeful. I’m optimistic,” said Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. “But I believe in not counting your chickens until they hatch.”
“The goal here is to get off to a small but positive start with bipartisan bills, so that we can get back to legislating and tackling bigger issues in a responsible way,” said Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York. “I hope it works.”
It is probably safe to say that Chuck Schumer’s idea of “responsible” is vastly different from…any sane person’s.
Quoting myself from last November: There is no inherent virtue in bipartisan cooperation with an opponent who never gives anything in return.
The middle keeps getting redefined by Democrats moving ever leftward. So let’s stop pretending it’s a good thing to meet there.
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