Send in the clowns
The once revered deliberative body of the legislative branch of our government has now dissolved into a mud slinging, name calling, carnival like atmosphere.
From the NYT:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — As if there was any doubt that Congress was on the verge of devolving into a carnival atmosphere, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, on Thursday proposed doing cartwheels down the center aisle of the Senate chamber to draw attention to Republican efforts to block legislation. (Emphasis mine)
Here, in the Cirque du Senate, there is trash-talking, whining and finger-pointing, bickering and, occasionally, brief flashes of serious disagreement on policy.
But with the clock ticking swiftly toward the end of the year and a stack of stalled legislation piling up, little is getting done in the Senate these days. And tempers are starting to boil over.
Mr. Reid, who turned 68 on Sunday and power-walks four miles a day, ultimately did not perform any gymnastics. But his fury over the inability to move the Democrats’ legislative agenda seemed to have deepened since Tuesday, when he accused President Bush of “pulling the strings on the 49 puppets he has here in the Senate.”
These are the same men and women who have accused our President of destroying the image of the United States overseas. What must they think of the three ring circus which now defines the Senate Chamber?
I know what I think, they all need to get out of perpetual campaign mode and back to the business of the people. Of course what I think and what will be done are probably at opposite ends of the spectrum given exchanges such as the following:
Democrats blame Republican obstruction. “They are filibustering as if they are on steroids,” Mr. Reid said.
Republicans say the Democrats are to blame, for pursuing a partisan agenda. They also say Democrats call for votes to end filibusters that do not exist and, in some cases, seek to end debate on bills before debate has started.
Things are so bad between Mr. Reid and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, that in some cases they even fight about whether they are fighting about something.
On Wednesday, Mr. Reid insisted that the Senate could not come into session until noon because Republicans would have used an earlier start to halt efforts to finalize a bill on climate change.
Mr. McConnell maintained Republicans had no such plan. “I think maybe the leader was anticipating an objection that did in fact not exist,” he said. Seizing a chance to prove Mr. Reid wrong, he offered a motion allowing work on the bill to continue.
Will the adults please stand up? If there are any left, perhaps we will see some meaningful legislation out of this session of Congress.
Left to the alternative of Senator Reid’s cartwheels…well I think I’ll just pass.
Written by Sue
