Stacy McCain at The Green Room:

By making “conservative” arguments for liberal policies, these treacherous elitists [Conor Friedersdorf, et al. ] convey the message that conservatives are not really committed to opposing liberalism. So Democrats can ram through their agenda, and then the “conservative” intellectuals will join the Consensus Chorus telling us that this is a necessary “reform” which would be political suicide to attempt to repeal.

McCain, without saying it, has presented the operational definition of “bipartisanship.” This is why Democrats always say they are for “bipartisanhip.” It sounds good and makes them look good because people hearing the word don’t define it this way. And the only sacrifice bipartisanship demands from liberals, at most, is that their policies are implemented incrementally rather than in one fell swoop, with conservatives Republicans signing off on each incremental step as “proof” that everyone supports that step.

Democrats who tout bipartisanship never mean that they are willing to lend some support to conservative ideas or even give them an honest hearing. In other words, they don’t use the word the way the general public understands it. But the real crime is that Republicans who tout bipartisanship aren’t looking for that either. Instead of seeking liberal support for conservative ideas, they are willing to implement liberal policies one step at a time and call each such step a “victory.”

Bipartisanship is a four-letter word in my book and, if you ask me — and I’ll assume you have, if you’re reading this — it should be a four-letter word to every conservative.

See McCain’s post at his own blog, too.