Bipartisanship - Definition and Overview

In a two-party system (such as in the United States), bipartisan refers to any bill, act, resolution, or any other action of a political body in which both of the major political parties are in agreement. Often, compromises are called bipartisan if they reconcile the desires of both parties from an original version of legislation or other proposal. Failure to attain bipartisan support in such a system can easily lead to gridlock, often angering each other and their constituencies. Repeated failures to reach bipartisanship, and the ongoing gridlock that results, has in large part lead to voter apathy in the U.S.

See also: bilateral