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Tueday’s Forum
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One response to “Tueday’s Forum”
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A discussion with Steven yesterday reminded me that there is another thing that Gingrich and his successors did that profoundly changed the way Congress worked: the destruction of the power of committee chairs. When I was but a wee lad the papers and Sunday shows were full of these powerful people. The position of Sam Nunn on some arcane defense topic was viewed with more importance than what the President thought. Why were they so powerful? Because they lasted. Once you made it to the top, whether in the majority or the minority, you were there til retirement or death. And these were people who had very strong ideas of where they wanted to go in both the short and long term.
They were also cognizant that Presidents came and went, and control of the House or Senate could shift, and so it was important that they develop a working relationship with the opposition. Their long term plans meant that they had to work things so their most important goals could survive a time they spent in the minority. It also meant that, when they were in the majority, it was wise to treat their minority counterpart with respect, because some day the tables would be turned. And my recollection is they worked between the House and Senate more closely, so they could ensure their pet projects made it to the final bill.
I’m not pretending this was nirvana, but it was better than the system we have now, the system Gingrich wrought.
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