Although I generally agree with the frustrations espoused by Tea Party advocates, I believe the group's vitriolic tone undermines its ability to appeal to more people than it does (me for example). But when I recently learned about the juvenile tactics being employed in the Senate, I wanted to find a huge audience and scream! Maybe the Tea Party will take up the cause on our behalf!
It's hard for me to believe that two people working in tandem can bring our government to a screeching halt. I'm not saying that this is limited to two specific people, but ANY two senators, at any time, can stop any legislation in its tracks, and they can do so indefinitely. In this 111th Congress 70% of all bills that have passed through the House, many of which earned strong bipartisan support and are important (IMHO), have been halted in the Senate by two or more (dare I say Republican) senators. I'd divulge their identities, but here's the real tragedy in this idiotic drama, not only can two senators hold our government hostage, but they can do it anonymously!
James Warren's Business Week article, Why the Senate is Sitting on 309 Bills explains the ugly details, and NPR has numerous articles on the subject. What surprises me is why this isn't headline news at CNN, Yahoo, and other mainstream news sources. And what's up with the democrats! Don't they have the gonads to make a mainstream stink out of this treatment?
Though these senate "holds" are an abuse of the system, it would be easier to stomach if the identities of these senators were made public. Of course, if the democrats didn't sidestep the rules and force Obamacare through the system using a rule technicality, it would be a lot easier for them to cry foul and claim the high ground. Unfortunately, our government isn't working on behalf of the people--the fools on each side of the isle are acting like imbeciles, and rectifying this lunacy seems like an unachievable objective.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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Go get 'em cowboy! Shedding light on this insidious manipulation of legislative rules should be a priority. BTW, the practice is by no means limited to Republicans. Senators from both parties partake in these shenanigans. That is the reason the Democrats are silent on the subject.
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ReplyDeleteAgreed. It wasn't my intent to give the dems a clean bill of health on the practice. I don't know if they have, in the past, manipulated the system so egregiously or not, but hypocrisy isn't usually a hindrance to crying foul in Congress. That's why I'm surprised the dems have been somewhat mute on the issue.