John Adams and Alexander Hamilton felt there shouldn’t be
political parties. The idea never had a chance, but imagine if it had. If all
that mattered were the merits of an argument. The very reason that the piece of
legislation was being proposed and how it was written was the deciding factor.
What a different country we’d be living in.
In the end, Adams and Hamilton themselves ended up members
of the Federalist Party. With absolutely no sign of them getting along, I might
add. Then, enter Thomas Jefferson. A man that formed his own political party.
The very party that I’m a member of. It made sense since Jefferson wanted
stronger state government and Adams a strong federal government. Plus,
Jefferson wanted the Presidency and Adams had it.
So, as you can see, partisanship has been alive and well
since day one. The question of course is does it
work
. Well, it
certainly used to. Jefferson spent his remaining days corresponding with Adams.
Making the peace, so to speak. In fact, in total irony, they even died on the
same day. July the 4
th
, 1826.
So does it work today? The answer is that it
can
.
President Ronald Reagan and Majority Leader Tip O’Neill proved that it could
work. More was done after hours with a couple of whiskeys than gets done in a
decade today.
There is no Reagan or O’Neill today. Dick Cheney being the
ultimate example. A more partisan man has never been put on the earth. Cheney
brought out the worst in people, and the worst part is that he
wanted
to. He turned America into his private lifetime fight. A fight men like him
look for every day. A fight that other people fight.
So where do we find an Adams, Jefferson, Reagan or O’Neill
today? They’re there, they always have been. They just can’t show themselves
until after the Trump administration.
Trump
loves
the controversy. And it works for him. It
certainly helps him personally. Forty percent of all Americans despise
Democrats. So, trying to get the President to deal with guns, tariffs or waivers
for big oil in a bipartisan fashion, or any other way, is off the table.
Government is broken right now. And it will be until leaders
actually lead.
It’s just too bad that Trump doesn’t drink.
Good riding with you.
(Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on Twitter @JoelKFGO.)
