Boo hoo!

From the "Cry me a River" files...

Markos is a bit bent out of shape over the House GOP response to proposed rule changes at the behest of Nancy Pelosi:

So Pelosi and House Democrats have decided that they're not going to stiffle the minority party in the House, changing the very rules that kept Democrats marginalized and irrelevant for the last decade.

And how do Republicans repay this completely unnecessary act of kindness?

Republicans are hoping Democrats stick to their guns and allow the minority a stronger voice on legislation. The opposition leadership said it would take the opportunity to put forward initiatives that could be potentially troublesome for newly elected Democrats in Republican-leaning districts who within months will have to defend their hard-won seats.

“There are going to be days when we will offer alternatives in ways that are going to be very appealing to Democrats in districts the president carried just two years ago,” said Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, who will be the second-ranking House Republican in the 110th Congress.

Republicans see the ability to force tough votes — which they avoided in the majority by stifling Democratic alternatives — as having two potential benefits: It can put vulnerable Democrats on record with positions that might not be popular at home, or it can fracture the untested Democratic majority. Mr. Blunt noted that even senior Democrats who served in Congress when Democrats held control had no experience dealing with a relatively thin, 16-seat majority that will not allow many lawmakers to avoid tough votes.

He rightly points out that we currently find ourselves in an era of hardball politics, but I'd love to ask a question right 'bout now: Can Markos take us back to the era of good feeling in the Senate and point out all the cooperation the majority received at the hands of the Democratic minority from 2003 through 2006?

It's hardball. You get half-credit for recognizing it as such but then it's taken right back for all the whining.