"The Radical Nature of What We’re Witnessing Today Has No Precedent in Modern American Politics"

"As Media Matters has noted for some time, much of the Beltway press corps refuses to put today's Republican obstructionism in any kind of historical context. Pundits and reporters watch the GOP universally reject White House initiatives with party-line votes and the press pretends it's normal. The press pretends that's how the game has always been played; that presidents have always found it virtually impossible to secure votes from the opposition party.
"Not true. The Beltway game has never been played the way it's unfolded under Obama. That’s not how the game was played under George W. Bush. And, for instance, that’s not how the game was played under Ronald Reagan. And specifically, not in 1983."

Eric Boehlert at Media Matters assigns blame for government dysfunction.