House vs. Senate
Some Republicans will no doubt argue that Pelosi's anti-earmark bill is disingenuous, cynical, and calculating. Doesn't matter to me. It's a good bill, they passed it (which is more than the Republicans ever did) and good on 'em.
But the real fun began when South Carolina's Jim DeMint introduced Pelosi's language into the Senate. Dick Durbin lost his shit, and Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy and others attempted to kill the measure. Their attempt failed by 5 votes, so now the Senate leadership is frantically whipping its caucus to vote to kill exactly the same measure their Democratic colleagues in the House just approved. Pass the popcorn, this one will be interesting. Glenn is keeping track.
Comments
The Senate is far more the chamber of calcified hacks than any other, and that is regardless of party. Right now we have a lot of old Democrats who have been there for decades and they act more like Barons than public servants. One thing I think we can agree on is that term limits for Senators, if not for Representatives, wouldn't be a bad thing at all. In the end, it's politics as usual, and politics is about acquiring and maintaining power. Earmarks are the pork that is thrown to the constituents to get them re-elected (while robbing them when they aren't looking). I think you and I are very much on the same page on this one.
Posted by: DBK | January 12, 2007 12:40 PM