Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Talk vs Do
The most important division in Congress is not D vs R but Talk vs Do.
In the last couple of weeks we've seen the Do Party emerging in a public way. Both houses have a bipartisan group advocating a reasonably complete solution to the energy problem. In the lower house the "gang of 22", and in the upper house the "gang of 10". These groups are mainly from the middle of the country, where action is always preferred to words.
Yesterday the Talk Party held its own press conference on C-Span, in which a bipartisan coalition of party hacks advocated a more conventional solution: D blames everything on R, R blames everything on D, nothing ever happens.
There's a strange paradox here. The Talk Party hacks are so totally locked into mutual blackmail and extortion, so disgustingly bathed in filth and corruption, so intensely focused on internal power games, that they don't understand the actual power in their hands. Congress can regain its credibility, and members can regain their seats, by solving problems. Normal and sane politicians (i.e. the Do Party) understand this basic equation. You keep power by serving the voters. Should be obvious to everyone, but it isn't.
Now that Paris Hilton has come out firmly for the Do side, we may finally get some action! ¶ 8:10 PM
In the last couple of weeks we've seen the Do Party emerging in a public way. Both houses have a bipartisan group advocating a reasonably complete solution to the energy problem. In the lower house the "gang of 22", and in the upper house the "gang of 10". These groups are mainly from the middle of the country, where action is always preferred to words.
Yesterday the Talk Party held its own press conference on C-Span, in which a bipartisan coalition of party hacks advocated a more conventional solution: D blames everything on R, R blames everything on D, nothing ever happens.
There's a strange paradox here. The Talk Party hacks are so totally locked into mutual blackmail and extortion, so disgustingly bathed in filth and corruption, so intensely focused on internal power games, that they don't understand the actual power in their hands. Congress can regain its credibility, and members can regain their seats, by solving problems. Normal and sane politicians (i.e. the Do Party) understand this basic equation. You keep power by serving the voters. Should be obvious to everyone, but it isn't.
Now that Paris Hilton has come out firmly for the Do side, we may finally get some action! ¶ 8:10 PM
