I agree with you that past congresses have "dwadled" too much, but to me Obama is trying to ram rod his agenda thru and is being very (to his credit) transparent about it. There's a reason why ther president doesn't make and sign his own legislation- so the US Congress can review it, debate it, amend it and then send it to be signed. That takes a certain amount of time, but Obama is asking congress to skip their due diligence. It may not concern you, but it does me. And I can give you a 100% guarantee that if it were a conservative president doing what Obama is doing, you;d be screaming bloody murder from the roof top. Try climbing down from your liberal blind and remember that the US Congress has to act in the best interests of everyone- liberals, conservatives, moderates and even those who don't vote. It's their job to do so and I, for one, do not want to see that aspect pushed aside for any reason.
On this issue we completely agree. I'd love to see a law where only one discrete new law could be voted on at a time. If that make Congress work more slowly or work harder, well, 'dems the breaks. To vote on a bill you haven't personally read or can't even discuss in knowledgable terms is a dereliction of duty IMO.
I don't think individual members of congress have the time or even to read every single page of every single bill. Supposedly, they have staffers who do this for them and then brief them. There are also hearings, debates... that bring out various particulars. It's enough for me they at least gain a fair understanding of the bill.
Yeah, all that fundraising, working on re-election and preening for a higher office can really cut into your working hours. In this case, the order came from up high to vote on it or your political career is over in the Democratic Party. Anyone who caves that easily doesn't deserve to be a US Congressman.
I have a friend whose job used to be proof reading state bills before they went to the members. He and his staff proof read tens of thousands of papers each week. How would anyone expect a congress person to read and absorb that much when they do have other things to do- attend committee meetings (with necessary prep time), independent studies and other prep work for various bills & causes, deal with constiuents, speeches, luncheons & dinners with a host of clubs..., and even take the necessary time to raise money and campaign for re-election... they actually are pretty busy folks.
I have two solutions. First, work harder. I used to work 80-100 hours per week on stuff more detailed than reading and understanding bills. Eventually I got burned out and had to find something less intense to do. If they choose not to work so hard, they can find other work. There are plenty of other people who are willing to replace them. Relying on staffers who often have their own agendas is a cop out. Second, pass fewer bills. I prefer fewer laws to more. If you constrict the amount of bills that can get passed, you ensure that only the best bills make it so far to be voted upon. The Senate was supposed to be the cooling dish for the oven that is the House. Yet, it seems the only place where global warming verifiably exists is in the Senate chamber.
