that gridlock is not being caused by both parties but by one party. the turning away from the middle class is dominated by one party. the refusal to do things that even mainstream republicans did, like unemployment insurance, like minimum wage increases, even five years ago, is hurting them. and our politics works. it works slowly. it's like ice melting, unfortunately. but it does work, and i can sense signs where it's really beginning to work. as i walk the streets of new york this weekend, average folks said to me, get that unemployment insurance done. these were people with jobs. they were middle class people. but everyone now knows somebody who's been out of work. and one other point, you know, one of my colleagues, rand paul, said that unemployment insurance is a disservice to the american worker. well, i find that insulting. what he's saying is that people would rather not work. and collect these meager unemployment benefits. that is not true. there is a work ethos in america. it's part of our american being, and it doesn't just apply to ceos or nuclear physicists. the guy who cleans the floor late at night has a pride in making sure that floor is really clean. the woman who will organize an office has a real pride in making sure it's extremely well organized and everything's in its place. so this idea that the hard right has that if we extend unemployment benefits, people will stop looking for work, is