Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
Sorry, I'm having trouble following this. Are you saying that even if a bill is approved by a wide margin, say 73%, that unless there was give and take it is not bipartisan? You've been listening to JFK too long - your arugments are tortured.
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Yes, I am. But it's more complicated than that. Maybe it's an issue that is more regional than partisan -- e.g., ethanol subsidies, or something to do with acid rain. If the legislation is sponsored by folks on both sides of the aisle, and reflects input from members of both parties, then it's bipartisan, whether it gets 55% or 75% of the votes.
OTOH, take a situation where one party draws up the bill, excluding the other side, and rams it through, refusing (e.g.) to allow alternatives to be considered. Maybe it'll get a number of votes from the other party, from legislators who don't like the choice presented to them but are willing to vote for the bill because they still think it's better than nothing, for whatever reason. If you start with half the Republicans, and half the Dems end up going along as well, that doesn't make things bipartisan. The word really refers to the whole process, not to the count of the final vote.
