'Until now, ideological discussion has been off the menu in Europe which lacked a genuine culture of debate'

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"As statesmen and stateswomen in such a rarefied environment, our leaders can look down on ideology."...Ah yes, the 'statesman.' That's a right of center politician who 'crosses the aisle' so 'things can get done.'

5/17/12, "The European grand coalition," presseurop.eu, Stefan Kornelius

"Until now, ideological discussion has been off the menu in a Europe which lacked a genuine culture of debate. Now that we have a French President and a German Chancellor from opposing sides of the political divide, perhaps the EU can revive the interest of its citizens with public exchanges of views on important issues....

Nothing would more effectively deprive the Council of its power than a conflict that resulted in a return to the old days. As statesmen and stateswomen in such a rarefied environment, our leaders can look down on ideology. And it is for this reason that the Council responded with so much puzzlement to the ephemeral mention of alternatives for European policy in Greek and French election campaigns, which also featured nationalism and populism in guise of universal remedies. Momentarily, the issues were out in the open: the question of expelling Greece from the euro, the choice between more public largesse or another round of belt-tightening, of raising or lowering taxes on the rich."...via Free Republic

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5/13/12, " GOP Leaders: “Let’s Just Get Something Done”," Daniel Horowitz, RedState.com

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