We all know that Washington is broken. The Everett Dirksen’s and Tip O’Neill’s of the past are nowhere to be seen. The last major social legislation put into law was 1965 (Medicare and Voting Rights Act). Instead we have the Democrats saying, “we have the majority and to hell with you” and the Republicans “no” to everything proposed. Our form of government requires compromise. After all how could the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution been written and ratified if there had been no compromise?
As Steven Pearlstein wrote in his Washington Post column dated February 5, 2010, “The only way a democratic system like ours can work is if the majority party acknowledges that winning an election means winning the right to set the agenda and put the first proposal on the table, though not the right to get everything it wants.”
Senators John McCain (Republican from AZ and Russ Feingold (Democrat from WI) are two of the few who have worked together on some compromise legislation. Now they have become very quiet, fearing challenges from their party or their opponents. Clearly they have put their jobs above the needs of the nation. That appears to be the attitude of most members of congress.
It appears that Tea Party advocates and other Independents, like myself, do not support either party view. This could spell trouble for all incumbents. Perhaps new people in congress will bring a new perspective. That would be a good thing. Then again there are the lobbyists and that could mean more gridlock. Is this what our founding fathers wanted?
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