Atrios on bipartisanship:
More generally, I think anyone who preaches the joys of bipartisanship is a fool who has little understanding of how American politics does and should work. Partisanship is a good thing. If the opening position is compromise then the public never receives a healthy debate over the merits of a particular policy. Sometimes I wonder if that’s really what members of the Broder school of political analysis really want – to cut the pesky people out of the process.
Atrios is quite right on this. The main complaint with politics in the Netherlands is, because no government can be formed other than as a coalition of parties, that there is no room for debate. Before the government has been formed the coalition partners will have negotiated a roadmap for their government and since each coalition will have a majoruty in parliament is is only rare that debate, let alone significant changes, are forced through.