Bipartisan:

: of, relating to,
or involving members of two parties ; specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and
compromise between two major political parties.

I don’t see name-calling in that
succinct definition.

I don’t see censure or punishment
or discrediting each other either.

In fact, the “b” word, to me, sends
kind of a 'Kum Ba Yah' vibe, a mental picture of hands joined across the wide
aisles of our legislative chambers. Swaying with eyes closed is optional.

So several dozen people from both
sides of the political fence showed up to pack the City Council chambers last
night to disrupt the proceedings.

Yup, you got that right. Disrupt.

What were they thinking?

A number of Democrats were there to
ask the City Council to condemn Congressman Buck McKeon for voting against the
recently-passed stimulus package. If the Council balked, they were there to ask
the council to turn down any stimulus money the city might receive.

Now how stupid would THAT be?

Hastily-summoned Republicans took
their turns at the mike defending Buck as everybody’s pal who does exactly what
a representative is elected to do: help his constituents. In that arena, I
agree. There is nobody like Buck who can make the right call or connection to
get things straightened out.

Bottom line, a lot of good people’s
time was wasted last night and trust me, no good came of it.

In his heart of hearts, I truly
believe that when the stimulus vote came up, Buck voted the way he felt his
constituents would have wanted him to. That’s his job.

But let me share a little secret
with you: not every constituent is going to get their way every time. That’s
called compromise.

What is your responsibility is
letting Buck know how you feel BEFORE the vote/issue/discussion and not making
a spectacle out of an unrelated meeting.

I don’t agree with some of his pet
projects (sorry, Auto Row guys) but he’s not the evil nemesis the group made
him out to be last night.

Has it occurred to any of our local
Democrats that nobody trusts a wing nut? If there was a credible candidate –
yes, slick and professional demeanor is a requirement, but it worked across the
country last November for others of the party – people might actually
pick one of you come Election Day?

Coming into a city council meeting –
which has nothing to do with federal politics, by the way – to ridicule your
perceived opponent is NOT the way to make friends and influence people.

Yes, grass roots organization is
how we brought about change in Washington, but last night’s ridiculous display is not a productive
way to deal with the horrendous financial situation the country is in right
now. A better approach might have been to commend the city for coming up with a
list of projects so quickly and reaching out a hand to Buck asking how you
could help.

I always hear about your
connections from conventions – could you have contacted some of the Democrats
in Washington and asked them to answer Buck’s questions or get his input?
One of Buck’s biggest concerns was that Republicans were excluded from the
conversation. If that’s true, then how can you claim that we’re following the
President’s lead?

One of the speakers last night said
that her definition of bipartisanship wasn’t “We won, you lost, deal with it.”
Well, neither does mine. Both sides should take the wisdom of her words and reexamine
how we deal with the nightmare we’re currently living. This country is in too
much trouble to ignore it.

We may not be singing ‘Kum Ba Yah’
yet. But more importantly, let’s also leave behind the rally cry ‘We Shall
Overcome,’ lest we regret the consequences.