Yes, Mr. Bartlett, you are right. Where are the good old days of gridlock and government shutdowns? When there is gridlock the government can't conceive and produce so much fiscal mischief in order to gain votes and win elections. Bring back gridlock!!

Bruce Bartlett: Bring back gridlock: "On Jan. 23, 1996, Bill Clinton told the nation, 'The era of big government is over.' If so, it sure didn't last very long. Today, the era of big government is back with a vengeance, ushered in by a massive new prescription drug entitlement, a pork-laden energy bill of grotesque proportions and a trade war with China. "