A Lesson Never Learned

Time after time, Americans experience tragic shootings in which dozens of people are killed by gun violence.  Time after time, we have "memorial" services and "pray" for some intangible "peace."   Time after time, we are confronted with another shooting and we still do nothing to stop the madness.  

Cartoonist RJ Matson captures the process:

Murders In Arizona

The State that prides itself in having citizens routinely carrying loaded weapons around, experienced multiple murders today at a shopping center.  The target was Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, who was critically injured, while several others, including a 9 year old girl and a Federal judge, were killed.   The NY Times, as well as every other newspaper in the country, has a detailed report.  It contains a rather remarkable comment by the Tucson Sheriff, on a possible cause for the shootings.  As reported by numerous outlets, including the Huffington Post, Sheriff Dupnik told reporters:

"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," said the sheriff. "And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry... All I can tell you is that there's reason to believe is that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think that people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol."

Well said, Sheriff, well said.

Filibuster Reform - Again

Reform of the US Senate's filibuster is back on the "to-do" list for the Senate (see my 10/5/10 post on this topic). While still holding a majority in that House of Congress, Democrats need to do something strong to reduce the Party of No's (PON) frequent use of this technique to stall debate and action in the Senate.  See my list of filibuster votes near the bottom of this page.

Some Democrats are attempting to change the rules to more closely follow the original filibuster procedure, which required the person blocking some action to hold the floor of the Senate and talk, for hours or days if needed. Under current rules, the filibuster can be invoked by merely threatening to block action. The Credo Action lobbying group provides examples of how this technique was used in recent years:

The filibuster is why health care reform didn't contain a public health care option similar to Medicare; it's why no meaningful climate legislation was passed; why even non-controversial judges were denied confirmation despite a crisis in the judiciary; and why even the bipartisan DREAM Act wasn't even brought to the floor.

The proposed changes are not perfect, but they're a step in the right direction.

Sens. Udall, Merkley and Harkin have proposed a number of provisions to limit the ability of the Republicans to game the rules and bring the Senate to a grinding halt. Their proposal includes:

1. Making those who filibuster actually stay on the floor and talk, like Jimmy Stewart in the famous scene of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
2. Reducing the opportunities to filibuster
3. Expediting the nominations process for relatively uncontroversial nominees
4. Eliminating secret holds

For whatever good online petitions do, this one is worthwhile. Anyone who believes in the democratic process should support this effort.

Vacation More Important Than Doing Their Jobs

So, the House finally passed the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act by a vote of 206-60 on 12/22/10.   You might notice that there were only 266 House members voting.   You might notice that there were about 169 Representatives missing in action.  The majority of the missing Members apparently are Republicans who left town early (i.e., before the House adjourned) for the "Holiday."  According to the Washington Post:

The bill passed Wednesday evening by a vote of 206 to 60 after House leaders had held open the vote for more than an hour, presumably for members who were still hustling to make their way over to the Capitol on the final day of the 111th Congress' lame-duck session.

Missing Wednesday's vote were nearly 170 House members, 100 more than had been missing in action for the previous day's votes. Thirty Republicans had joined all but one Democrat, Mississippi's Gene Taylor, in supporting the measure

It's just another example of why most people hold politicians in such low regard.