Bipartisan But Brutal: Lessons from the Chinese Exclusion Act

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Bipartisan But Brutal: Lessons from the Chinese Exclusion Act

Cartoon by Thomas Nast, titled “Pacific Chivalry – Encouragement to Chinese Immigration” (engraved wood) Harper’s Weekly, 1869 Bipartisanship is often heralded as the pinnacle of legislative achievement. The recent votes on foreign aid to Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine offered a display of this heraldry. But we should stop praising bipartisanship as a virtue. It is not inherently praiseworthy. Bipartisanship is praiseworthy as a byproduct of the l…