Better Donkey

Two great political journalists died recently. One, David Broder, was one of the best-known journalists in the country. The other, Mike Posner, would be recognized by few outside the United States Capitol.  Both were among the finest journalists ever to set foot on The Hill.

Broder's story is well known.  Often referred to as the dean of the Washington press corps, Broder was a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for The Washington Post.  He was instantly recognizable across the nation from his appearances on "Meet the Press" and other television programs.  He died at age 81 last month.

To be honest, most of us political reporters wanted to be David Broder when we grew up. He seemed to know everyone and everything. He wrote with authority because he knew what he was writing about. Calm and measured, Broder easily could be mistaken for a college professor.

Posner, on the other hand, could be mistaken for someone decidedly down on h...

Once upon a time, the United States Senate was known as the "World's Greatest Deliberative Body."  But in recent years, watching the Senate in action (if you can call it that) is like watching paint dry. The soundtrack of the chamber no longer is a Senator debating, but instead is the classical music played by C-SPAN as the Senate does nothing.

Partisanship and a close party division in the Senate have caused the body to ground to a halt. Rules that were designed to protect the minority party are now used to block legislation and nominations. The Senate was designed to protect the minority but not this way.

History tells us that Thomas Jefferson,visiting George Washington, asked why the Constitutional Convention had created the Senate. "Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?" asked Washington. 'To cool it," said Jefferson. "Even so," responded Washington, "we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it."

A major part of the...

Since Oct. 1, the federal government has been funded by five short-term measures called Continuing Resolutions. They have lasted from several days to several weeks while Congress dithers over how much money to spend.  Most of the resolutions call for funding programs at last year's levels. Several times, it has been unclear whether Congress would be able to pass a resolution in time. If funding lapsed, most of the federal government would shut down. The only exceptions would be essential services such as law enforcement and defense.

...Read Full Post

...