Why Can't They Just Put Aside Their Differences And Get Things Done

This is the kind of NPR Independent voter view of things. There are problems, someone should should solve them, "partisan bickering" is what prevents the problems from being solved, and if only we could put aside our differences for the good of the country, CommonSenseSolutions which are just obvious could be implemented.

Of course the real point it is "getting things done," not "putting aside their differences," that matters. Sure people don't like the sound of politicians bickering, but that's mostly because it's fucking boring and evidence that things are not actually getting done.

The problem with the passage of ACA was precisely this. It was a year long process that was just excruciating, and of course it gave time for the "shotgun shit against the wall until something sticks" conservative momvement to find reasons to criticize it. But, seriously, if you'd ask any people mad about Obamacare in 2010 what they were mad about, you would rarely get a coherent answer (the mandate was the only thing, Thanks Obama and all the Smartest Boys On The Internet, that was fucking stupid).

Arguably even "getting things done" doesn't matter much from an electoral perspective. Maybe elections are 50% vibes and 50% the price of gas the month before the election. Possibly true! But the "vibes" of the last several months were fucking horrible! It wasn't partisan, precisely, just Democrats bickering!