In earlier times they kept rancor from spoiling their main mission of serving the nation's interest & preserving the Senate's dignity and integrity.
Excerpts from one of Bill Shipp's columns this week:
In 1964 Russell, in opposition to a public accommodations bill, led a filibuster that lasted from March 9 to June 19. The Senate ultimately passed the civil rights measure, handing Russell his worst setback in Washington.
However, the Georgian continued his role as a Senate giant and one of LBJ's close advisers. Russell's influence on military and agriculture matters remained unsurpassed.
Obviously, those were different times. Senate leaders of perhaps greater intellect possessed the ability to compartmentalize their partisan differences. In most cases, they kept rancor from spoiling their main mission of serving the nation's interest and preserving the Senate's dignity and integrity.
To many of us outsiders, fiddling with the Senate filibuster rule falls close to the "not urgent" category. This shaggy-dog, inside-the-Beltway issue was not the equivalent of a "nuclear option" or an "assassination," as each side has screeched.
Despite the temporary compromise, the damage has been done. The American people have lost another round. Our senators, Democrats and Republicans, spent time and energy on an arcane dispute that should have been settled off camera weeks ago by a leadership with more vision and less vitriol. It should be noted that neither the GOP Majority Leader Bill Frist nor the Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid fashioned the truce. Their far-out, uncompromising partisan backers apparently would have preferred to fight on.
In case our coddled representatives in Washington haven't noticed, our country is embroiled in imminent crises that transcend the wild desire for judges who will void pro-choice abortion laws - the apparent starting point for the current stupidity.
America's base of good jobs is vanishing. Several of our biggest corporations teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. Manufacturing is disappearing. Illegal immigration is out of control. Our health-care system is a disaster. The war in Iraq is not going well. A billion Muslims are rapidly being converted into blood enemies.
Our senators should be embarrassed. They have spent days fretting over the number of votes needed to close debate on hiring judges - and playing tit-for-tat in a complicated game that has little resonance beyond the biased babble of cable television and talk radio.
In 1964 Russell, in opposition to a public accommodations bill, led a filibuster that lasted from March 9 to June 19. The Senate ultimately passed the civil rights measure, handing Russell his worst setback in Washington.
However, the Georgian continued his role as a Senate giant and one of LBJ's close advisers. Russell's influence on military and agriculture matters remained unsurpassed.
Obviously, those were different times. Senate leaders of perhaps greater intellect possessed the ability to compartmentalize their partisan differences. In most cases, they kept rancor from spoiling their main mission of serving the nation's interest and preserving the Senate's dignity and integrity.
To many of us outsiders, fiddling with the Senate filibuster rule falls close to the "not urgent" category. This shaggy-dog, inside-the-Beltway issue was not the equivalent of a "nuclear option" or an "assassination," as each side has screeched.
Despite the temporary compromise, the damage has been done. The American people have lost another round. Our senators, Democrats and Republicans, spent time and energy on an arcane dispute that should have been settled off camera weeks ago by a leadership with more vision and less vitriol. It should be noted that neither the GOP Majority Leader Bill Frist nor the Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid fashioned the truce. Their far-out, uncompromising partisan backers apparently would have preferred to fight on.
In case our coddled representatives in Washington haven't noticed, our country is embroiled in imminent crises that transcend the wild desire for judges who will void pro-choice abortion laws - the apparent starting point for the current stupidity.
America's base of good jobs is vanishing. Several of our biggest corporations teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. Manufacturing is disappearing. Illegal immigration is out of control. Our health-care system is a disaster. The war in Iraq is not going well. A billion Muslims are rapidly being converted into blood enemies.
Our senators should be embarrassed. They have spent days fretting over the number of votes needed to close debate on hiring judges - and playing tit-for-tat in a complicated game that has little resonance beyond the biased babble of cable television and talk radio.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 12:00 PM
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