More Evidence Of Democrat In-Fighting?

Fox News reports on some more insider dirty laundry:

Rep. Jim Cooper, a conservative Democrat from Tennessee, told a liberal radio network on Monday that the Obama White House encouraged him to defy House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the $819 billion economic stimulus bill.

"Well, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I actually got some quiet encouragement from the Obama folks for what I'm doing," said Cooper, one of only 11 Democrats to vote against the economic stimulus plan that passed the House last week.

"They know it's a messy bill and they wanted a clean bill," he said. "Now, I got in terrible trouble with our leadership because they don't care what's in the bill, they just want it to pass and they want it to be unanimous."

Cooper, whose startling admission came on Liberadio, was one of about 55 House Democrats to sign a letter criticizing Pelosi for suspending debate and committee rules on the fiscal package, politico.com reported.

"They don't mind the partisan fighting cause that's what they are used to. In fact, they're really good at it -- and they're a little bit worried about what a post-partisan future might look like," Cooper said during the radio interview. "If members actually had to read the bills and figure out whether they are any good or not. We're just told how to vote. We're treated like mushrooms most of the time."

An early supporter of President Obama, Cooper is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats.

How about that!  Correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't exactly jive with the Democrats' promise of the bipartisanship, does it?

Even more interestingly, this seems to back up the suggestion that there is a considerable amount of fracturing going on in the Democrat party.  Not only does President Obama not have control of his own party, but he doesn't even have the respect of the other Democrat leaders!  Now it appears that the Democrat old guard in Congress is doing whatever they feel like doing, and Obama has been reduced to some quiet begging on the side.

Another thing to point out: according to Cooper, Pelosi and the Democrats have no problem with partisan fighting.  In fact, they rely on it.  If the rank-and-file Democrats in Congress had time to read and evaluate bills on their own merits, Pelosi and the radical Democrat leadership wouldn't survive for long.  This is what I mean when I ask all you Democrat readers out there if you realize your party has been hijacked.  Cooper seems to think so, though he didn't go so far as to say it.

This also backs up my assertion that those same radically Leftist Democrat leaders like to ram monster-sized bills through with an absolute minimum of examination and debate because they know that if the truth comes out, their support will shed faster than a snakeskin.

Hope!  Change!  UNITY!

There's my two cents.