Who needs to hire the Jester?

[wood_artist]

In the olden days Kings hired Jesters. While the image today is that of a fool, in fact the position was very important and really good Jesters were worth their weight in gold. It is the one position that is not specified in the Constitution of the United States, but clearly we need one now more than ever.

Comments

Craig, the Senate needs its own Jester.

[ext_2740201]

Neither House of Congress is the sole culprit. THe House may be your preferred target today, but neither party has a monopoly on being foolish and refusing to move to the center, for the good of the country.

Re: Craig, the Senate needs its own Jester.

[wood_artist]

I agree, Dale. There are two differences that I see, however.

The first is that the Senate has a rules problem in that 40 votes can stop any action, so the minority party, in this case the GOP can stop action. I have the impression that the Senate would at least bring a lot of stuff up for a vote if they could. Yes, Reid has similar power to Boehner to not bring things up, but there's been less of that and more of the "minority blocking" actions.

The second problem is that the House is the only place revenue and spending bills can originate, so inaction results in shutdown automatically. My representative happens to be a democrat, and that, in essence, means I actually don't have any representation...because Boehner won't let the chamber vote on anything he doesn't personally like, and I honestly don't believe that's what the Founding Fathers had in mind.