The World's Greatest Deliberative Body (Commentary)

American Thinker ^ | December 19, 2012 | Kent Ramsay

[jazusamo]

The U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Combined, they make up the greatest deliberative body in the world. Where our elected representatives meet and debate in the open to determine the laws of the land in the greatest representative democracy the world has ever seen. Committees are formed consisting of members of each party in our two-party system. These committees in both bodies use public hearings to debate and gather input on the important public matters of the day, such as tax policy, budgets, appropriations, etc. It is designed to be an open process that produces annual budgets and appropriations, with the full vote of both bodies required to pass a law and send it to the president for his assent or veto.

This is a process that has been used for centuries to keep the machinery of the government working in a way that is tied to the will of the people. An open process, including public meetings and detailed deliberation of each component of the federal government. This legislative process, created over the lifetime of our republic, with open debate, a publicly understood order of business, a calendar, and a means of resolving committee recommendations toward the goal of creating law, is what has made our country work.

Has anyone seen this process lately? Is there a budget deliberation and public meeting process for each federal department that is escaping my notice? Is there an annual budget anymore? Where are the committee chairmen and ranking members discussing their legislation?...

[gunnyg]

A company of thieves...what more needs/can be said...

We made a hard, left turn back aways inappropriately called “the civil war”!

Then a lotta bumpy road since; and now..... “The Closer”!!!!!

That should sum things up nic...no, not nicely...but...well, ya know...

Semper It’s All Been Said!
*****

[buffaloguy]

I tend to think of them as:

The World”s Largest Collection of Personable Idiots.

[jazusamo]

Bump

[MasterGunner01]

The “World's Greatest Deliberative Body” is a total oxymoron. These 535 “worthies” occupy a taxpayer funded whorehouse on Capitol Hill where the DC Lobbyists buy and sell them with OPM (other people's money). Most of the “Greatest Deliberative Body”, the Supreme Court, and Executive Occupier need a “come to Jesus” moment from a tree, rope, assembly required, and repeat.

[Political Junkie Too]

I am growing tired of Obama declaring that the House compromises are "dead on arrival" at the Senate, have no chance of passing, and so Obama will not consider it.

Instead of acting as if that were true, why don't we actually pass a bill and see if the Senate will pass it or not!

And what about Mitch McConnell? Is he going to just sit by and say "Oh, well, I guess if Obama says it can't pass the Senate, then there's nothing really left to do here?" Why isn't McConnell raising heck over the lack of involvment of the Senate? Why isn't McConnell going on all the shows and demanding that the Republicans in the Senate get a chance to debate and be involved in the legislative process?

Has anybody even SEEN McConnell since Congress went back into session?

-PJ

[jazusamo]

Agreed...McConnell is missing in action and Ramsay makes a great point about there being much more to the House and Senate than the leaders. Get our members of the majority in the House out making noise to counter the arrogance of Obama and his supposed mandate.