Gloating Politics

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank says if the Republicans continue volubly gloating over their Senate victory in Massachusetts, Americans are going to need hearing protection. He says: “What the American people don’t hear is any offer by the Republicans to compromise with Democrats on health care, climate-change legislation, fiscal matters or much of anything else. If anything, Scott Brown’s surprise victory in Massachusetts on Tuesday seems to have left Republicans with the belief that their ‘party of no’ strategy is working. After the Republican House leaders pronounced all the things they don’t want to do – ‘end . . . scrap . . . reject . . . has to be stopped . . . no to this . . . no . . . not to embark . . . isn’t working’ — they cut off questioning after a couple of minutes and left… Even if Republicans were inclined to cooperate with Democrats, there’s little political incentive for them to do so. Only 24 percent of Americans have a good amount of confidence in congressional Republicans, according to this month’s Washington Post-ABC News poll. With that lowly standing — even worse than the Democrats’ — Republicans’ best hope is that Democrats achieve nothing this year and are punished by voters in November as do-nothing legislators.”