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Thanks, PC, for this discussion. It has been a lot of fun and I've thoroughly enjoyed having it. You know, I was thinking about this last night. Through our discussion, you and I have found many areas where we agree and several where we have not. Yet, we've managed to have a discussion with mutual respect for our differing opinions. While you and I have a different approach to some areas of politics, with you prefering a more action militarily and less action in the markets than I, we each found a way to come together and discuss in a reasoned and respectful fashion. What kind of a nation do you think we'd have if politicians could do the same?
There was a time in our history when it was that way, when politicians would have a (sometimes heated) exchange on the House floor, then link arms and leave the building and go and have a drink with one another leaving politics behind and seeing each other only as friends. Hmm, as one who enjoys political books, perhaps the next read on my list should be Ronald Brownstein's
The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America. I like this line I lifted from the
Amazon site, "The 1938 resurgence of the Republican Party marked the start of the age of bargaining, with presidents and legislators crossing party lines to govern through consensus." According to Brownstein, this followed a period of hyper-partisanship that began in 1896. In this history of America, this would have followed the deep recession that began in the early 1890s, then followed through the boom period that eventually led to the Great Depression. I'd love to believe that deep partisan politics took a back seat to solve a national crisis, and while that may be true, partisanship never really died. But, for a time, the men of Washington found a way to come together and work for the good of the American people. I hope, in my lifetime, to see that once again. That we could experience just a little bit of that in our discussion at BYC, gives me hope that we will.