Griper Blade: Rudderless

Yesterday, I noted that approvals for the Democratic party in congress are nosediving and that this was probably because the party looks "scatterbrained" right now. Dems are all over the map on healthcare reform and party unity is pretty much non-existent. As a result, dem numbers have dropped from 62% in January to 49% now, according a new Pew poll. Democrats don't look much like a party right now, with infighting and disagreements over major points of reform splitting it down the middle.

But the Republican "hive mind" approach to governance is even less popular. During that same period, GOP numbers haven't budged -- up or down -- from 40%. And, to be absolutely honest here, if Democrats started doing the patented GOP lockstep, it'd freak me out a little. Let's face it, that "one party, one mind" thing is a bit creepy and cultish.

Still, it'd be nice if Democrats could at least agree on the broadstrokes. But some recognize that what we call a "healthcare system" is deeply, deeply flawed and in need of a drastic overhaul, while others say it's only a kinda-sorta problem and the system only needs a little tweak here and there. There is no fundamental agreement on even the scope or depth of the problem. And this morning, I have no idea which way we're going with this thing... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]