Keller @ Large: Merry Christmas From Congress? Not So Much
BOSTON (CBS) – "Thank you, and Merry Christmas," House Speaker John Boehner said last night after they passed their trillion dollar spending bill. Thanks for nothing, I'd say.
Politicians who had all year to sit down and hash out a spending compromise put that crucial task off until the last minute. Then, a handful of them went into a back room and came out with a 1,600 page doorstop loaded with all sorts of junk. And they expected members, almost none of whom had read the bill, to vote it up or down.
All year. They made it with less than three hours left before shutdown. And they fumbled in the end zone, delivering an inferior plan loaded with questionable goodies.
No wonder the latest AP poll shows only 13% of the public thinks the two parties can find a way to work together.
There are people of goodwill and intelligence down there from both parties. But it seems there aren't enough of them to get anything serious done. They cannot overcome the inertia imposed by ideologues, demagogues, pols on the make; and their constituencies, all whipped up by their respective media enablers.
I wonder how this pathetic gridlock will be fixed. The voters have been turning over partisan control of Congress every few years for awhile now, but business as usual rolls on. Putting one party in charge of both legislative and executive branches is never a good idea.
It may be that we have to look elsewhere for political leadership, closer to home.
We're starving for something. But Washington, D.C., keeps lurching along, our national albatross, a nice place to visit, where you can't get a decent meal.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
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