In the previous post, (and likely others) I touched on the fact that Congress is very partisan. Well it seems I'm not alone in this opinion. By the way, the picture at the top of the page is awesome. Obama is saying, "I kick ass. You know it, I know it." Uncle Joe in the background is thinking, "Wow, Barack is the man. And I have the sniffles." Lastly, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is next to Uncle Joe thinking, "My mouth hurts from smiling. But don't stop! Bright lights!" Anyway, their faces are cool, and it's just a cool shot. In fact, it's so cool, I'm going to provide it for your optical entertainment.
You like?
That was pathetic. Anyway... Ezra Klein makes four main points.
Point one: Some senators hate their jobs to the point that they envy university presidents.
That's sad. Isn't something wrong when elected officials hate their jobs? I would think that elected positions would be the best and most rewarding, because you put so much time and effort into reaching that spot. And you're serving your people. What could be better than that? Serving your party, duh.
Point two: Congress needs to do its job rather than bicker so much that they leave it to someone else.
In theory, Congress really should be more powerful than the president. That's the way the whole system was designed. However, with the rise of party politics, Congress really has become less effective. That's why Klein says that many things Congress used to do are now run by government agencies or the President because Congress couldn't work well enough together to get it all done. Some items then required executive order to be finished. I do have to say though, that it kind of should be harder for a group of 535 people to come to agreements than it is for the President to agree with himself. Even so, Congress should be representing the people of the United States of America when making decisions, and if they did that instead of working along party lines, they might get more done.
Point three: Congress doesn't work anymore due to old rules and party politics that cause gridlock.
Not much to say there that I haven't already said. Party politics are ridiculous. They reduce issues to two sides, when there are actually many, many different solutions. Then they force people to pick, because after all, who else are they going to vote for? America is taught to be either Republican or Democratic, and that other groups are just too far out there to be taken seriously. In Iowa, you pretty much have to be either a Republican or Democrat to caucus.
Point four: The way we think about our government in terms of individuals has led to majority vs. minority which, along with the filibuster, lets no one govern.
Once again, Congress being ineffective has passed some of their former responsibilities to other agencies and the President. I don't know who has noticed, but the power of Mr. President seems to have grown quite a bit. Jefferson didn't even dare engage in war without a declaration by Congress. He even balked at making the Louisiana Purchase. Today, presidents can virtually fight wars without a Congressional declaration. All they need is funding from Congress, which is remarkably easy to get when the Congressional majority is aligned with the president's party. Plus, who is going to vote against funding for troops? If a senator did that, they would be criticized as uncaring or unpatriotic.
We need to be careful. Without some changes to the system, (and soon) control in this country is going to get messy. Without strong control, not much gets done, and spending goes through the roof. (Not like it isn't already) This is why I will vote for who I think is right no matter what party they're from, what religion they practice, what the color of their skin is, what gender they are, if they wear boxers or briefs... You get the point. I'm going to do what's right for me, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
You like?
That was pathetic. Anyway... Ezra Klein makes four main points.
Point one: Some senators hate their jobs to the point that they envy university presidents.
That's sad. Isn't something wrong when elected officials hate their jobs? I would think that elected positions would be the best and most rewarding, because you put so much time and effort into reaching that spot. And you're serving your people. What could be better than that? Serving your party, duh.
Point two: Congress needs to do its job rather than bicker so much that they leave it to someone else.
In theory, Congress really should be more powerful than the president. That's the way the whole system was designed. However, with the rise of party politics, Congress really has become less effective. That's why Klein says that many things Congress used to do are now run by government agencies or the President because Congress couldn't work well enough together to get it all done. Some items then required executive order to be finished. I do have to say though, that it kind of should be harder for a group of 535 people to come to agreements than it is for the President to agree with himself. Even so, Congress should be representing the people of the United States of America when making decisions, and if they did that instead of working along party lines, they might get more done.
Point three: Congress doesn't work anymore due to old rules and party politics that cause gridlock.
Not much to say there that I haven't already said. Party politics are ridiculous. They reduce issues to two sides, when there are actually many, many different solutions. Then they force people to pick, because after all, who else are they going to vote for? America is taught to be either Republican or Democratic, and that other groups are just too far out there to be taken seriously. In Iowa, you pretty much have to be either a Republican or Democrat to caucus.
Point four: The way we think about our government in terms of individuals has led to majority vs. minority which, along with the filibuster, lets no one govern.
Once again, Congress being ineffective has passed some of their former responsibilities to other agencies and the President. I don't know who has noticed, but the power of Mr. President seems to have grown quite a bit. Jefferson didn't even dare engage in war without a declaration by Congress. He even balked at making the Louisiana Purchase. Today, presidents can virtually fight wars without a Congressional declaration. All they need is funding from Congress, which is remarkably easy to get when the Congressional majority is aligned with the president's party. Plus, who is going to vote against funding for troops? If a senator did that, they would be criticized as uncaring or unpatriotic.
We need to be careful. Without some changes to the system, (and soon) control in this country is going to get messy. Without strong control, not much gets done, and spending goes through the roof. (Not like it isn't already) This is why I will vote for who I think is right no matter what party they're from, what religion they practice, what the color of their skin is, what gender they are, if they wear boxers or briefs... You get the point. I'm going to do what's right for me, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
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