Bipartisanship. Moderation. Not popular words here most days.
Somewhere on a conservative blog (or maybe ALL conservative blogs) the eight senators named in the title of this diary are being condemned as turncoats, capitulators...traitors.
Every one of these Senators has infuriated all of us in the past. Every one of them has done their part at several junctures to dampen progress. I do not intend to soft pedal this fact. But I think it is also worth doing to acknowledge them for making a difficult vote tonight and choosing to be on the right side of history. How history will judge the totality of these Senators' careers remains to be seen. But one thing is clear - on this day each of them chose to be heroes. To act as humans rather than simply Republicans. In that spirit, I offer my sincerest gratitude to all of them. They have reminded us all that it is possible to transcend the sad political dynamic of this moment in time and instead simply do what is right.
When I log into Dkos these days, I cannot help but feel uneasy. I see us writing off half of the country as the enemy. Often with reason to do so. The last two years in particular have offered few glimmers of hope that the GOP as a party has any intention of living with us. I wonder in quiet moments whether a second civil war is avoidable. Things have gotten so cynical that even a person like myself can begin to wonder whether the Republicans en masse are willing to actively work to damage the country in order to take and/or retain power. How could we ever work with "those people"?
I hate myself when I feel that way. And lately I have lots of opportunity for self-loathing. The evidence seems to back up this dark view of my fellow Americans.
Does tonight change all of that? I don't think so. The evidence is still overwhelming that the Republicans are fairly committed to the path of obstruction for the sake of obstruction.
But this is a glimmer of hope. Maybe just a glimmer. A tiny sliver hardly worth noting. But I am an American first and a Democrat second - and one who believes in the system we have. One who believes that the founders were pretty smart to force all of us into this infuriating process of fighting out our national debates and forcing compromise. Their wisdom ensured that change would always come too slowly, but it created hope that change could indeed happen.
Tonight Senators Snowe, Collins, Murkowski, Burr, Kirk, Ensign, Voinovich, and Brown have given me just a little more hope that America is still America. In our celebrations tonight, lets not forget to honor the service all of them did today in the cause of becoming a more perfect union.