The Big Sort : Congress

What Change Means: It's Not Policy; It's Process

Bill Bishop — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:24:00 GMT

"Palin and Biden Stake Their Claims on Change," rang the lead headline in the Times after the vice-presidential debate. Who could blame them? With several wars, Great Depression II, a blistering civil conflict in Pakistan, and European economic collapse,...(read more)

Why House Members Aren't Supposed To Just "Vote Their Districts"

Bill Bishop — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:31:00 GMT

House members say phone calls are running 9-1 against the financial rescue bill, and that raises a question. If people really oppose the bill in those numbers—and there are signs they don't —shouldn't "representatives" vote that way? That was the practice...(read more)

What's Missing Is Followership

Bill Bishop — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:44:00 GMT

Dan Balz at the Washington Post writes about a "collective breakdown of leadership in Washington," while the paper's lead editorial says the country faces "A Test of Leadership." Over at the New York Times , Jackie Calmes writes that the House vote Monday...(read more)

Thirty Years and Three Reasons Congress Imploded

Bill Bishop — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:45:00 GMT

When leaders of the House looked around for a consensus to confront what they were convinced was a national emergency, consensus had left the room. There are plenty of stories about yesterday's tactical failings. But Monday's partisan collapse was also...(read more)

Why No One Trusts the Government to Fix Anything Anymore

Bill Bishop — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:33:00 GMT

Over the past few decades, Congress hasn't done a very good job of solving problems. (Congressional scholar Nelson Polsby once described Congress as being in a 30-year period of stalemate.) Now we expect these guys to rejigger the world's financial system...(read more)