What is the definition of compromise?

Say you have been renting an apartment your whole life in a city where the demand for housing is so high that you can't easily move even if you wanted to. It's one of those arrangements where you don't have a lease, but there has always been an understanding between you and the landlord that you are just like any regular renter.

The landlord wants to refurnish his place, and has decided to store all of his old furniture in your apartment, permanently.

He owns the property, so what can you do? Technically, state laws protect your rights as a renter, but then you have to go to court to invoke those rights, and man, what a hassle. So you let him store his stuff in your apartment. But you simply can't accept the items from his living room; that stuff is just too big and ugly. You refuse.

He threatens to remove the locks from your front door, ignore your concerns and pile his stuff in your place anyway. You threaten to go to court. Though you feel you have right on your side, judges in this state tend to support landlords in such cases. It's not clear who would win the court battle. People in the community feel you are well within your rights.

Suddenly, your neighbor offers to broker a "compromise." The result:

You have to take the landlord's wall unit, coffee table, and end tables, but get to reject his sofa and love seat. He reserves the right to later try to force you to accept other junk, like his old beat up rocking chair.

You promise not to take him to court for the rest of this year, unless he forces you to take something really, really extraordinary, like his wall-to-wall leopard-skin carpeting.

In exchange, you get to stay in your now impossibly-crowded apartment for the rest of this year. And he still reserves the right to attempt to remove your locks and take over at any time after that.


FEEL GOOD?

Republican definition: Agree to every one of my demands and I'll postpone denying you your right to filibuster until I want to.

Democratic definition: Agree to every Republican demand including not using the "right" to filibuster. Claim victory.

Basically, the repukes get to put lunatics on the bench while all but taking away the filibuster. "Yes good little Dems, you can have it, but it has to sit on the shelf. No touching!" Meanwhile the Dems get to look forward to getting their asses kicked when the chimp nominates Ashcroft or someone equally heinous to the SCOTUS and the repukes decide to go nuclear after all.

Heads, I win. Tails, you lose.