My head aches trying to figure out how progress in Congress has occurred in the past. There is so much discord and attack now in Washington that it seems President Obama is paralyzed at every attempt to get something done to help this country (except when he approves large sums of money to bail out corporations!). In the back of my mind I have thought, “Our representatives are bickering and so intransigent that no one can proceed with useful business.” The filibuster has stopped our governing bodies like a game of chess that runs out of moves. No one wins, either. It seems to me so childish and sad that our great nation could be stuck with two stubborn toddlers (our political parties) pulling on the same toy. I have dismissed my thoughts as those of an ignorant lay person. Our people in Washington have got to be better than spoiled children.
Unfortunately, Senator Bayh writes this today in the Opinion section of the New York Times. The title is WHY I’M LEAVING THE SENATE :
“My father, Birch Bayh, represented Indiana in the Senate from 1963 to 1981. A progressive, he nonetheless enjoyed many friendships with moderate Republicans and Southern Democrats.”
Evan Bayh continues;
“When I was a boy, members of Congress from both parties, along with their
families, would routinely visit our home for dinner or the holidays. This type of social interaction hardly ever happens today and we are the poorer for it. It is much harder to demonize someone when you know his family or have visited his home.”
I want to go to Washington and work as the “liaison” (read “party planner”) who organizes these social gatherings for the political parties. Perhaps Mrs. Obama should consider Mr. Bayh’s suggestion.
“Any improvement must begin by changing the personal chemistry among senators. More interaction in a non-adversarial atmosphere would help.
I’m beginning my 12th year in the Senate and only twice have all the senators gathered for something other than purely ceremonial occasions. The first was during my initial week in office. President Bill Clinton had been impeached and the Senate had to conduct his trial. This hadn’t happened since 1868, and there were no rules in place for conducting the proceedings.”
He says further,
“...after Sept. 11... Every senator who could make it to Washington gathered in the Senate dining room to discuss the American response. The nation had been attacked. The building in which we sat had been among the targets, and only the heroism of the passengers prevented
the plane from reaching its destination. We had to respond to protect the country. There were no Republicans or Democrats in the room that day, just Americans. The spirit of patriotism and togetherness was palpable. That atmosphere prevailed for only two or three weeks before politics once again intervened.”
Ms. Obama, I think this could be your calling, to entertain and foster communication and personal interaction among our representatives. What an opportunity, Ms. Obama, and I am not
being facetious!
Mr. Bayh continues,
“The recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission, allowing corporations and unions to spend freely on ads explicitly supporting
or opposing political candidates, will worsen matters.”
I thought so too, but, IF the candidates receive “blind money” from corporations - lets
say the companies can only donate “anonymously” to a candidate or, even better, to a general
“pot”, devided equally, then our representatives wouldn’t have to spend so much time worrying about garnering funds to compete in the next election and could govern more freely and responsibly.
We could even ban certain types of television advertising. No more negative attacks
about opposing candidates. Those running for office can only put up ads about themselves on
television, we could say. Written or print press could do “investigative” reporting about every
candidate revealing information for the public to vote as informed citizens. A side benefit of this would be a huge amount of money for newspapers to write about candidates honestly and
extensively. Senator Bayh offers some ideas too:
“Congress should consider ways to lessen the impact of the Citizens United decision
through legislation to enhance disclosure requirements, require corporate donors to appear in
the political ads they finance and prohibit government contractors or bailout beneficiaries from spending money on political campaigns.
Our most strident partisans must learn to occasionally sacrifice short-term tactical political advantage for the sake of the nation (what a concept!). Otherwise, Congress will remain stuck in an endless cycle of recrimination and revenge. The minority seeks to frustrate the majority, and when the majority is displaced it returns the favor. Power is constantly sought through the use of means which render its effective use, once acquired, impossible.”
It is sad that a man like Evan Bayh has to give up his work on behalf of the American
people. He is telling us why and we must listen. Our country is deteriorating on every front; social services, education, health care, even science and research. We are slipping constantly down a cliff of backwardness and pettiness and we will not remain globally competitive in many areas very soon. Even the almighty dollar is weak. Listen to this brave man and his convictions. Take heed,
or descend into the darkness of ignorance.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Brady
