In pondering a specific, Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ) inadvertently reveals the general difference between his party's attitude toward governance and that of the opposition's:
We've worked too hard to get [Obamacare] passed, and in good conscience, we have to deliver to the American people. I don't want to hear about the Republicans exploiting this. They're going to exploit every chance that they have. They didn't cause this particular problem. And so what I'm saying is that we'd better come up with an option or an alternative to [more GOP sabotage].
A good conscience, a compulsion to deliver, a recognition of owning a self-caused problem, and a determination to get things right--political qualities universally lacking in today's GOP.
Sure, some congressional Dems--especially Blue Dogs in red districts or states--are running scared and looking for any cover, although the White House is expected to provide a more reasonable sort later this morning. Still, on whole, the proposition holds: While Democrats tend to own up to their mistakes, and thereupon set out to remedy them, Republicans are grinningly content with dropping all their vast blunders into someone else's lap--and thereupon declare their superiority.
Pascrell's pointed remarks say much more the words used, yet it's their unspoken meaning that deserves electoral applause.