The immigration cloture vote provided a whole lot of insights to everyone who watched it on C-Span live. Among the lessons forcefully driven home to me were the following:
1) The allocation of time to debate for Dems/vs.Repubs was either 40/20 or 50/10. And when Dems exceeded their time limits they were given extensions.
2) And when the voting was concluded, the next speaker, Robert Byrd, was given 20 minutes to say a whole lot about nothing — at the rate of about 6 words per page.
3) This “most distinguished deliberative body” in the world, proved over and over again what a joke it really is — and yet the members don’t get it!
4) Not just Dems (Reid), but Reps (Specter) extolled the virtues of this deliberative body. Yet Reid, in his anecdotal claptrap about his friend (Tim)never established whether Tim was in danger of being deported, or Tim’s friend was. What place does this chit-chat belong in the world’s most deliberative body.
5) 700-page laws, with 300 page amendments are needed by no one. If there are laws already on the books, then enforce them or repeal them. Is that too difficult for the “Masters of the Universe” to comprehend?
6) It’s really beyond time when this nation has to come together. The London near-bombs have got to let us agree — either we act as a nation, threatened, or we continue to squabble, to tear ourselves into factions and “special interest groups) — and that includes posturing politicians…or we succumb.
