Hypocrisy In Politics

"Political hypocrisy" is, of course, redundant. Nevertheless it's fun(?) to call out periodically. Take how 'reform' is characterized.

When the party in power wants to include in reform something 70% of Americans do NOT want, the politicians of that party dig in their heels and refuse to do it 'partially'. The only way you Americans can have ANY reform is if we in power also include the thing we want in spite of the fact that 70% of Americans don't want it. ANY reform in this area REQUIRES "COMPLETE" REFORM! NO piecemeal reform will be allowed. We can't have ANY reform unless we include everything we're dreaming of having.

That. ladies and gentlemen is exactly why we don't have immigration reform yet. Neither party will agree to do the part of immigration reform that 80% of Americans DO want until the politicians (both parties!) get amnesty ... for the umpteenth time.

Democrats, the party currently in power, have been doing that a lot (just as Republicans have done in the past) the past four years they've been in power. Repeatedly, they've refused to pass just the parts of legislation they could get general agreement on and held progress hostage to getting something included that most Americans don't even want. A recent legislative need illustrates the hypocrisy so well that it's worth noting.

After refusing to pass health care reform, immigration reform, finance reform, and many other reforms unless they got 'total reform', Democrats are saying we need to attack tax extensions piece-meal. Most Americans want all of the 'Bush tax cuts' extended because they've figured out that reducing the profits of companies that hire most working folks during a serious recession is not just undesirable, it's stupid. Idiologically Democrats are for more taxes for 'the rich' and against tax cut extensions for them. They cannot bring themselves to extend all the tax cuts for purely idiological reasons. No matter that most serious economists and most Americans say that'll hurt employment and recovery. So, after saying no to partial reforms on other legislation for the past four years, Democrats are now saying we have to do this one piece-meal.

Unbelievably (according to today's paper), they are submitting legislation to extend the tax cuts for everyone but those THEY define as 'rich'. They say THIS is a temporary economic reform that MUST be done piece-meal ... because WE are idiologically opposed to doing part of it.

This same party has blasted Republicans REPEATEDLY for opposing legislation because they want to attack various reforms more piece-meal is now saying piece-meal is required. When Republicans try to block 'comprehensive' legislation in favor of piece-meal Democrats say Republicans are the party of no. But when it's Democrats blocking comprehensive legislation in favor of piece-meal, and Republicans don't like that, Republicans are STILL 'the party of no'. Huh?