"Compromise" is the buzzword spoken by Democrats when they no longer have the votes to pass legislation without Republican votes. Of course, "compromise" to them means achieving their objectives more slowly, with Republicans abandoning their objectives altogether.
From S&P statement justifying U.S. credit downgrade, 8/5/11
http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/articles/en/us/?assetID=1245316529563"We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the
prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related
fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the
growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an
agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and
will remain a contentious and fitful process...
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as
America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective,
and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt
ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in
the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our
view, the differences between political parties have proven to be
extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting
agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program
that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently."
