that is responsible for the decline of our government. I've long contended that the quality of our legislators is insufficient for a world leader. It was better in the 20th century.
There is an excellent article by Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann in this issue of Foreign Affairs that documents the failure of Congress to work for the country and perhaps a failure to work at all. This is the shortest congressional session in decades; they've been in session less than 100 days. The work is so scant that votes are held after 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and before noon on Thursday of the weeks in which they are in session.
One of the legislators' primary responsibilities is oversight. The number of such hearings was 37 in 2003-4, as compared to 135 ten years earlier. The Senate Armed Services Committee held zero hearings on Afghanistan in 2003-4; the House held one. A small percentage (less than 15%) were on the wars we have been engaged in.
We've been inundated with horror stories about the Department of Homeland Security. Yet, the only real issue for Congress in this massive reorganization was whether the workers would lose civil service benefits. No thought as to how the reorganization would be or was being implemented.
Bush has issued over 700 signing statements. Not a word from Congress until the Boston Globe broke the story.
Whether Clinton misused his Christmas mailing list took 140 hours of testimony at Congressional hearings. Abu Ghraib was granted 12 hours.
Bush has acted like a king and Congress has been silent.
What are we paying these clowns for? Throw them all out come November 7!
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