The worst 4-letter word of them all...compromise

Perhaps it as a few letters more than four, but you'd never know it given the last several years of how the U.S. government has functioned.  To me it's refreshing to see some of our lawmakers finding a way to reach some bit of common ground even if it is a very small step in the grand scheme of things.  I'm torn on my feelings to many of the ultra-conservative groups that have sprung up over the last couple of years.  While I do agree with many of their core principles, I generally don't agree with their tactics of using anger, gridlock, and fear mongering to get their points across.  Conservatives would be much better served if they focused more on finding a way to bring liberals to the table by allowing bipartisan groups more latitude in finding ways to compromise.  What the polarized public generally doesn't understand and lawmakers should understand, is that true negotiations should end with neither party being truly happy.  That's one of the basic principles in negotiations because what that means is that both sides got some of what they wanted, and both of them got some what they didn't want. 

The more the right digs in, the more they polarize the country and ensure either a) their party's eventual demise or b) an increasingly ineffective congress that eventually stays at roughly even numbers for quite some time.    Compromise is just one key to the Republican party regaining their standing in the minds of right-leaning and maybe even moderate swing voters.  The other is really being aggressive about courting minority groups and Catholics who for all intents and purposes really should be conservatives themselves.  I mean seriously this is the party of Lincoln, the party of good family values, and the party of fiscal conservatism.  Granted, there are plenty of unsavory characters in the party and many of the southern conservatives have roots in the old Southern Democratic tradition.  For now I'll leave it at that, but the Republicans really could make inroads with a couple of small changes in how they operate and portray themselves to the public.  Then, over time, they might finally win a landslide election again and have a bit more latitude in pushing through some of their more conservative ideas.  I'm not a big fan of Boehner either, but I do respect that he finally had the courage to stand up to these groups.  They should certainly have their say and help influence their party, but not to the detriment of a functioning government who's primary responsibility is to ensure our country's stability and the public's safety.  If our government can't do that, then it ceases to be a legitimate government.