The biggest barrier to bipartisanship is the collusion among politicians, lobbyists, and activist organizations, which pump up hate in the service of hyper-partisanship. Former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey is a one-man emblem of this new iron triangle. Through FreedomWorks, Armey has taken a lead role organizing the Tea Party protests, where he rallies crowds by first reaffirming their worst fears: "Nearly every important office in Washington, D.C., today is occupied by someone with an aggressive dislike for our heritage, our freedom, our history and our Constitution." Once you've convinced your audience that anti-Americans are in the White House, bipartisanship—which Armey once described as "another name for date rape"—is a nonstarter. What's arguably worse is that Armey, a former economics professor with a Ph.D., knows better. As he
told a reporter from The New York Times magazine, he doesn't believe the "death panel" claims and other fear-mongering exaggerations. "You know that expression: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" he said. "Are their fears exaggerated? Yeah, probably. But are Obama's promises exaggerated? I may think it's silly, but if people want to believe that," he said, referring to death panels, "it's OK with me."