From the floor of Congress, some sense

For those of you that have been too busy following the body count in Iraq, there was a small item of good news recently: the U.S. Senate managed to compromise and save the filibuster from destruction. Why the American public is overjoiced that the Senate just barely managed to keep from behaving like two five-year-olds squabbling over a favorite toy, is beyond me. You know those kids that grab onto each end of doll and play tug of war until the doll is torn in two? That almost was our Senate. Our politics is in a sad, sad state of partisanship.

I have a confession to make. It turns out that I was wrong, that left-wingers hadn't exactly been fair to Bush Jr., and had been sitting on his judges with the filibuster like school bullies. For judicial appointments (from the NY Times), 57% were confiirmed during the Clinton administration, 52% were confirmed during Bush's watch, and, to show how bad things have become, upwards of 70% for previous presidents. So, the compromise was exactly that--neither side is exactly happy, but the Democrats have promised to stop being filibuster-bullies and the Republicans have promised to not rip the filibuster-toy up and hurt our democratic institutions. I think, in another day and age, that 'bad compromise' (to paraphrase Bill Frist), might have been called...statesmanship.

I also have a story. I went and watched the Texas legislature, the House to be exact. I highly recommend that everyone do that one day. By good luck, I sat next to a lobbyist for a wind power company. All of those chattering Representatives and staff, the laptops, the cell phones, and the strange parliamentary lingo...it was a surprise. Every single vote but one was unaminous. The lobbyist said all the deals had been worked out already in committee. I was a little surprised, but then who really has a partisan position on expanding Dallas's utility oversight to include a nearby county, or on allowing electronic payment of certain taxes to the state? The lobbyist (in his nice suit with the telltale Blackberry and cellphone earplug) said, "Son, it's like a sausage. What goes in...well, it ain't exactly what comes out."

Then the entertainment happened, and I almost missed it. A Democratic congressman had had his favorite amendment dropped from the Senate version of a bill, and he had some words to say to a certain Democratic senator. I can't convey it like he did, not even close. But evidently people trolling for prostitutes in Houston had accidently hit kids on the way around the block to cruise by the hookers again. This congressman's had put in an amendment to be able to sieze the cars of individuals caught soliciting prostitutes where a car was involved, and the senator had cut it out for 'philosophical reasons.' "Well, the Congressman closed, "I invite the distinguished Senator, next time he's in Houston, to come down to our neighborhood and see if he can solve our problem with his 'philosophical reasons'."

After all the laughing and clapping died down, I was thinking, "Come on, buddy--A Texas senator on weekend furlough in Houston? You don't need to invite him. He'll already be in your neighborhood, trolling from his Caddie."

Ahh, politics. It's like Bridge for people in suits.