There are virtues to be found with partisanship. You fight for what you believe, hammering out a workable compromise with the opposition. You fight, argue, and debate, and at the end of a tumultuous day, there is something that is voted on and agreed to. The result may not be perfect, or even ideal, but it is based on ideas that can hopefully move us forward.
The problem is polarization. These days seems to be that the opposing sides are moving furthur and furthur apart on many issues. This is making it harder to find a workable compromise on the issues at the center of our lives. There was a time of Blue Dog Democrats, Rockefeller Republicans and Big Tent political parties that seems more distant now. However, governing from a centrist standpoint is not usually going to be an answer that will fix our problems.
The answers to the problems we find in politics are not easy, but immediately running to the center is not the answer. Partinsanship will continue and compromise, while certainly more difficult, will still happen. Perhaps then, the answer is, that all of us, from voters to politicians, to the journalists who report on news and opinions, we all just have to work harder on moving foward as a nation.
You Happy Puppet 