Paul Krugman has an excellent, yet disturbing, column on the gridlock in the U.S. Senate, which has frozen any kind of progress. The Republicans have lost all sight of working in the best interests of the nation. But, the Dems. have let them get away with it. It's actually scary:
And with the national G.O.P. having abdicated any responsibility for making things work, it’s only natural that individual senators should feel free to take the nation hostage until they get their pet projects funded.What's disturbing is that the crew at the White House probably put some serious thought into how to respond to Shelby's crass action.
The truth is that given the state of American politics, the way the Senate works is no longer consistent with a functioning government. Senators themselves should recognize this fact and push through changes in those rules, including eliminating or at least limiting the filibuster. This is something they could and should do, by majority vote, on the first day of the next Senate session.
Don’t hold your breath. As it is, Democrats don’t even seem able to score political points by highlighting their opponents’ obstructionism.
It should be a simple message (and it should have been the central message in Massachusetts): a vote for a Republican, no matter what you think of him as a person, is a vote for paralysis. But by now, we know how the Obama administration deals with those who would destroy it: it goes straight for the capillaries. Sure enough, Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, accused Mr. Shelby of “silliness.” Yep, that will really resonate with voters.
The GOPers aren't afraid. They're out-of-control. And, inviting them to the White House for a sit-down discussion about issues hasn't worked so far.
