Colin's Last Stand, Episode 57: The Bipartisan Breakdown (A Rant)

Got to this late, but I couldn’t agree more. Well done.

Paul Molina

You're probably right. The harsh reality is that we get exactly what we vote for.

Colin Moriarty

The Logical Party has an excellent ring to it.

Colin Moriarty

A little late to this one, but I think about this subject a lot, and one of the things I keep coming back to is our responsibility as voters, as I think many have started seeing compromise as moral weakness rather than utilitarian necessity. While I like the foundation of the Tea Party, I think the precedent set in the 2010 midterms might have done more harm than good.

Josh Squires

Love the rant. You had extra passion in your voice that was more entertaining to me, anyway. Couldn’t agree more with the vast majority of this video. I have changed my “alignment” from liberal as a child to conservative in college to now what I just call logical. I honestly don’t give two shits about any party. I wish we could just agree to have representatives pulled from a registry of working Americans bound to one term and guaranteed a stipend for life for there service. Take all the money out of the system and audit everything. I think this would incentivize the type of collaboration toward the greater good since there is no incentive to run again or jockey for campaign donations.

Brian Fuller

Thank you for sharing the video!

Colin Moriarty

LOL.

Colin Moriarty

Thanks ma! I love and miss you. Thanks for watching. =)

Colin Moriarty

It's a superb show. As I watch it again, I've come to realize (and appreciate) how gray Bartlet is. Socially liberal, but incredibly hawkish, as an example.

Colin Moriarty

?!

Colin Moriarty

I've not seen those shows, no, but I will keep an eye out for them! Thank you for watching the video. I'm glad that you took to it.

Colin Moriarty

This video is super, super interesting. Thank you for sharing it.

Colin Moriarty

Spot on. The Venn Diagram between the normal definitions of "right" and "left" outside of the fringes is gigantic, and should be far bettered catered to.

Colin Moriarty

Duly noted. =) Thanks for watching!

Colin Moriarty

That's a fair perspective, but I'd argue the humanities are worth investing in simply because it's so incredibly (and obviously relatively) cheap.

Colin Moriarty

The older I've gotten, the more I've come to vehemently support term limits, which is something I didn't feel when I was younger. The change in heart is because of what you're talking about.

Colin Moriarty

It's a frustrating situation. If we could just compromise on some issues, I feel like we could solve a great deal.

Colin Moriarty

This is actually one of the biggest reasons I voted for Trump. One campaign promise was to set term limits. It would be historically monumental if that happened. I really don't care who gets it done, only that it does.

Dav9834

Shared on Facebook In order to ask questions like these, have to talk with one on other not just at one another. Thanks

The easiest way to explain it is Fear. Washington is afraid that any legislation will end their political career. Term limits first then maybe the brave will step up and make tough choices.

Joey Finelli

"A laser focus on peace, commerce, and friendship." Who are you, Jean-Luc Picard? ;)

Aaron

So glad to hear your rant, bud. Frankly, I think you ranted for many of us. Just today, I was sort of ranting about why on earth the world feels the need to fight and conquer. Its irrational to think that any good could come if it. In my opinion anyway. And Washington is scary. Totally. I think they are partisan just to be 'fashionable' to/for/with their colleagues- and real thought is put aside. Sorry, now I'm ranting. Must run in The family... 😉😘

BettyAnn Moriarty

Fun fact - The West Wing is the show that got me into caring about politics. Such a fantastic series. I've been screaming for bi-partisan action for years now. It's always the most depressing thing to me when reading any commentary on politics. Libtards, wingnuts. etc etc... When I'm sitting here in the middle like "I'm just an American... dont know about you..."

Owen

Harumph!!!

Timothy Monnig

Terrific video. Partisanship is one of the most frustrating and laziest part of the political system. Politicians rely on and give trite answers based upon partisan politics to avoid putting any deep thought into any situation, leading to a real vagueness and lack of motivation in dealing with them from the public. Its basically give us an easy answer. There are no easy answers but partisanship is used to have something to jump to and allow any politician to defend themselves, as doing what their party wants, thus shifting any blame for laziness or any possible criticism of them in their own eyes. Colin, as you mentioned the West Wing, have you seen the British shows Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister or The Thick Of It? These are pretty brutal take-downs on British/European politics and the institutions that limit any real change from taking place.

Peter Campbell

The bipartisan breakdown is a very frustrating problem. This graphic is a good illustration of how cooperation in Congress has eroded: <a href="https://youtu.be/tEczkhfLwqM" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/tEczkhfLwqM</a>

Ford Warrick Jr

Good episode. Part of the problem is these people are so busy trying to keep their job they forget to DO their job.Also the politicians and the media have forgotten that 90% of us are in the middle and only LEAN one way or the the other... only a small minority of voters are on the extreme Left or Right. Yet if you look at the news, or listen to the people in Washington you would think that everyone is on one extreme or the other.

David Ouillette

Great episode! An episode on your core political principles and how you personally distill issues would be interesting. As much about your thought process as the principles themselves.

Chris Holtzer

I noticed you defended the humanities, and cuts from them. I normally would have agreed with you but do feel that some of the worst ideas out there are coming from the humanity and social sciences these days (specifically from universities). Now I'm not sure how I feel about them and whether I want to support them.

CTE

Great video. We also can't ignore the effect money, corporations and lobbyists have on our democracy. The recent GOP tax bill was handed out to lobbyists to read and suggest changes while Democrats were being kept completely in the dark. Obamacare was rammed through in a similar way with insurance companies at the table. Also, senators spend a majority of their time fundraising for their party, not governing. Lobbyists spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year to put pressure on politicians to do their bidding, and trust me, they would NOT be doing it if it wasn't effective. The worst part? Both sides benefit from it, so NOBODY is eager to fix it. Until we do, the wealthy and well connected will get most of the political favors they desire, and it is us that are left without a voice representing our best interest.

Claudien

Yeah, the team sports mentality. Or as I've come to understand it, the tribal mentality. What is especially concerning to me is how it's actually spread to the electorate. In this way you could say democracy is functioning quite well. In 2004 we had the christian coalition. In 2016, the democrats had their own coalition around identity. Each has been toxic and has really divided us. When you are divided as tribes you stop having rational conversations, it's simply our side vs your side. You defend indefensible people because they are part of your tribe. It's just so bad.

CTE