[torstenvl]

The only thing that fuels partisan gridlock is a refusal to hold the parties responsible for their moral failings, including and especially Congressional Republicans' ideological resistance to helping each other.

There are a great many Republican voters who support social safety nets and yet continue voting for the party that is ideologically opposed to them. Continuing to pretend this doesn't happen, as you propose, cannot fix the problem.

(Note: My comment is in response to your comment about the parties. I cannot and will not defend GP's comment as applying to "half the country," as I think this is overbroad.)