I don't care what anybody says about the recent transportation bill. You know the one I'm talking about. Gov. Pawlenty vetoed it, and then Congress overrode the veto to put it into law. Whether or not you think that the bill is a good one, it is an excellent example of how our system works when it comes to passing bills. Apparently all of the Democrats wanted the bill passed, and they talked a few Republicans into going along with the override.

There were immediate repercussions. Those Republicans who overrode the veto and held certain committee memberships were stripped of those memberships by their fellow Republicans.

So much for bipartisan cooperation. Both parties claim that they want to work together. Then, when some members of a party "cross over" and agree with the other party, they are treated like villains.

In a country that is run by members of both parties, it is difficult to imagine that they will ever work together on anything. And, if they can't agree on anything, they can't very well pass laws that are for the good of the people, can they?

Add to that the fact that this is an election year, and you will be hearing more and more of the "liberal" or "conservative" point of view being wrong, wrong, wrong. It's too bad that they can't learn to work together for everyone else, instead of worrying about the next election and how they will "look" instead of how they will "act."

You can reach Mary Bruemmer at mary.bruemmer@pineriver journal.com