May I be so bold as to suggest recommended reading on how our U.S. Senate “works.” In its custom dating back to the beginning of time, the New Yorker Magazine takes an extremely dull subject and brings it to life.
Be forewarned. This article is not a sound bite. The author went to extremes to be fair to the arcane process and the polarized influence practiced by both Republicans and Democrats in today’s Senate.
But the bottom line, as politicians are wont to say, is the Senate rules are designed to fail. The article covers the gymnastics of rules manipulation used by both parties in getting the health and financial reform acts passed. When you get to the end of the story, you will read what legislation is sitting in limbo and why.
May I also suggest while reading the account, do what I did and assume the positions of liberals, progressives, moderates, conservatives and all the extremes on both sides.
As you will learn, it’s no longer the whales vs. the minnows. It’s the minority imposing their will on the majority. The Senate membership is short on elite leaders while growing stronger with panderers to the vast network of lobbyists.
Little surprise the Senators budget their time in which all never read the legislation before them and instead take their marching orders from Senate leaders, caucus chairmen and subordinate staff with ideological crosses to bear. They dare not miss those 15-minute intervals to call constituents and raise money for reelection campaigns.
To say the U.S. Senate is the greatest chamber ever designed to debate issues is, as one Senator in the article suggests, a bad joke.
Draw your own conclusions.
Jerry Remmers worked 26 years in the newspaper business. His last 23 years was with the Evening Tribune in San Diego where assignments included reporter, assistant city editor, county and politics editor.