If It's Broke...Fix It
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We saw this past week why the U.S. Senate is broken.
The question Florida’s voters need to be asking is who among our U.S. Senate candidates is going to fix it.
As Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) singlehandedly held up the federal government by putting a blanket hold on 70 federal appointments, we heard nothing from any of our Senate candidates.
Where was the outrage?
Both Crist and Rubio talk about the need for fiscal discipline and bipartisanship, so why has neither called out Shelby for his misuse of Senate procedure?
Shelby was holding up the federal government so he could “bring attention” to a pair of pork projects he wanted in Alabama.
Well, he got his wish. We’re paying attention.
But our attention is not just focused on the outrageous steps Shelby was willing to take to ensure pork for Alabama, we’re also looking at the fact that the Senate is broken and it needs to be fixed.
With the current use of the filibuster, it now takes 60 votes to get anything done in the Senate. For all practical purposes that means nothing is going to get done.
And as voters continue to express their dissatisfaction that Washington doesn’t do anything, the primary question for our U.S. Senate candidates is what are they going to do to fix the job they want to hold.
Most observers of Washington agree that without alterations in how the Senate operates, it will continue to flounder in inertia. The change our country needs, the change our country voted for, will be held hostage and stagnate.
This is one of the biggest issues facing the Senate candidates yet neither of them is talking about it. What good is it to talk about issues if the Senate itself is broken, operating under arcane procedures that obstruct any meaningful action?
How serious can candidates be about getting something done in Washington if they aren’t serous about fixing the way business is done in Washington?
The fact that none of Florida’s U.S. Senate candidates have publicly condemned Shelby’s stunt makes you wonder if they believe this use of the Senatorial hold was appropriate. That should raise questions in the minds of all Florida voters.
We need to hear from them
Is this how they believe the Senate should operate?
And what exactly do they plan to do to fix this broken institution?
Posted by Bernie Campbell on Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Permalink: If It's Broke...Fix It
