What further proof do you need that saying no, opposing, obstructing is a political way of life — the definition of “being” for some shrill partisans. What you are about to read is NOT a piece from the Onion or another tepid effort at satire from The Politico’s Roger Simon. But it is from The Politico. And it is a real report:
In an unusual move, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) objected last week to a routine Senate resolution commemorating Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.
Congress passes hundreds of resolutions, meant to commemorate everything from a special awareness week or Little League champions. The resolutions lack any real power of law and are predominantly ceremonial. For example, earlier this month the Senate passed resolutions to mark “World Plumbing Day” and commemorating the three-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake.
In order to keep business moving and not clog the Senate floor, they are normally passed in bulk through a “unanimous consent agreement,” meaning a vote isn’t tallied since both sides agree to it.
But last week, Cruz objected to including the MS Awareness resolution. He was unhappy with a clause in the resolution describing the purpose of the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition, according to a Democratic staffer.
Cruz’s staff said the problem was timing.
You can go to the link and read the rest of the jutification from Cruz’s office, and an even harder pushback after this story came out.
The bottom line — no matter how Cruz’s office tries to explain it — is this: once upon a time a political would NOT THINK FOR AN INSTANT about opposing a resolution like this on any grounds.
But some politicos (I won’t mention any names) think being strongly opposed is intelligent and serving the public.
Here’s a tiny hint: sometimes thinking things through qualifies as that, too.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.