So, it's the middle of the night (Friday) and I can't sleep. C-Span is droning on in the background. I make coffee and start to listen to the debate.
It's the financial regulation legislation, the "Conference" committee wherein the Senate and the House try to blend their bills and modify them both to satisfy each other.
First to speak is a Republican, who puts the fear of God into me - this bill, all 2,000 pages of it, will kill jobs, kill industry, stop companies from "hedging" their bets on the future cost of materials, like steel for the tractors they make. In this horrid recesion, this bill will send us all back to the stone age to grind sticks together in order to make fire. We will be hungry, in ragged clothes.
Since they're so courteous that they always "rotate" speakers, next up is a Democrat. According to this gentleman, we will all be in clover and honey as soon as the bill is passed. Companies will quit their greedy ways - poor people will keep their homes. Never - NEVER - again will we see the kind of financial collapse just experienced. Wall Street will finally make everything up to the suffering people on Main Street and we will all ride off into the sunset of financial security together.
So, I'm like - confused? Is this an awful, awful bill, presented by Socialist-loving Democrats who only want to create a dependant society, or is it a good bill, objected to by the "Just Say No" Republicans whose only agenda is making Obama fail?
Well, here's the deal. I listened to these people - all 43 of them who are on the Conference Committee - and not one of them ever budged from their "party line." Democrats said the bill was the answer to all our problems. Republicans said if the bill was passed, we would witness the demise of capitalism, free markets and American pie.
I'm saying - it's tough to be a good citizen. But I'm not gonna quit trying!
2 comments:
I appreciate the fact that you spend the time to get both sides. Lets not forget the Democrats when Bush was in office, they tried to block everything and all they said was "No, No, No" as well. I do agree that there MUST be a middle line where the American People are represented and not the American Parties. Where is that line? Maybe if we passed a No Lobbying law we could get somewhere. Until then I do not hold out to much hope that either has MY best interest at heart. Please keep this up Partisen Pam, I do enjoy it and it often takes a couple of months to get an audience. Don't do it for the audience, do it because it is a way to let some steam off in what could be a very productive manner
Well, thank you, Mommy Dearest!
I absolutely agree that if we could get the Big Money interests out of Congress, we could see a return to legislators who concentrate on making decisions in the best interest of the American people.
I saw a report recently on how much time - every single day, that lawmakers spend calling people and begging for money.
In California, just last week, Carly Fiorina spent $70-million (of her own money) on a PRIMARY, for heaven's sake!
I think the only answer is publically funded elections. Every lawmaker - all 535 of them - gets a certain amount, the same for all - and that's all the money they can spend.
We should also adopt Britain's election rules - they campaign for something like 6 weeks and that's it - everybody votes.
Even though I supported Obama, two+ years campaigning was a bit much!!
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