What Obama and the Tea Party Have in Common
George Will makes an important point about the critical difference between a parliamentary democracy and our system that puts in place structures to protect the rights of the minority — in this case, the Senate conservatives.
Whether you agreed with Ted Cruz or not, he was exercising a very important, albeit messy, constitutional right to express a minority view. Liberals should take note, because this is a right they may need the next time around. George Will is pointing out something really hopeful about our system, which seems dysfunctional at the moment: people don’t reach for common ground because they want to — but because they have to. We just aren’t very good at it right now. That is why there is the Common Ground Committee. org, to shine the light on efforts to do this that are successful. This gives Americans hope, which is critical to regaining faith in democracy — so badly needed these days.
