December 2, 2009

The Downside of Collaborative Strategies

By Brad Fregger
Liberals tend to believe that most conflicts can be resolved by showing the other party that they are reasonable and want only what's best for everyone. On the surface, they appear to be collaborating, working hard to reach an agreement that everyone can support. However, since liberals aren't really interested in the other party's proposals, this is a false collaboration, or a fraud. This is the essential conflict that many "goodhearted" liberals have. They want to believe that they are open to other views, but in their heart of hearts, they know they aren't. Regardless, the collaborative approach appears to have worked very well in negotiations with those Republicans who are anxious to "discuss" any issue and (hopefully) reach a win-win solution. To paraphrase a statement that we have heard many times: "After all, we don't want to appear unreasonable."Therefore, Republicans come to the table ready to negotiate, even willing to compromise on critical...(Read Full Article)