
<p>We hear a lot about the gridlock that will be coming to Congress in 2023. ;</p>



<p>On the surface, that makes sense. ; After all, the Senate is controlled by the Democrats, and the House is controlled by the Republicans. ; Since both houses must agree on legislation, the respective parties cancel out each other’s pet proposals.</p>



<p>As the theory goes, without the ability to pass one or the other legislative agendas, the only thing left is investigations. ; While Democrats are already whining about Republican chaired investigations in the House, they are also revving up their own investigations in the Senate. ; In view of what they have been doing for the past four years, it is the height of hypocrisy to be complaining if the GOP undertakes a few potentially damaging legislative inquiries.</p>



<p>But there is a very large silver lining in that cloud over Capitol Hill. ; Since neither party will have the power to jam their pet legislation down the throat of the other party – or down the throats of the American people &#8212; they will have to engage in good old fashion legislative horse trading. ; They will have to work in a bipartisan fashion on matters that can gain bipartisan support. ; ; ;</p>



<p>If you look beyond the daily news reports, you will discover that even as Democrats had control of both houses of Congress – and the White House – a lot of legislation was passed with bipartisan votes. ; More legislation that was passed with only Democrat support. ; Among the legislation garnering bipartisan support were the Infrastructure Bill and the Gay Marriage Bill – two pieces of legislation that most Americans support.</p>



<p>I would argue that the bipartisan legislation is probably the best product produced by Congress. ; It meant that both sides of the sharp political divide enabled the best interests of the public to be served in the bipartisan bills.</p>



<p>Everyone – including President Biden – has sung the praise of bipartisanship and promised to work in that direction. ; But for the most part, they only engage in it when they do not have absolute powers.</p>



<p>There are a lot of legislative proposals that will not get passed. ; And for the most part, it is better if they do not. ; It is better for the nation when partisan legislation is defeated or delayed until a greater consensus can be achieved. ;</p>



<p>Yes, there will be many investigations. ; That has been increasing over the years. ; But a lot of legislation is going to get passed on a bipartisan basis. ; And that is a good thing.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Is it Gridlock or Bipartisanship?
