Inaugural Post Bitches- Do We Really Need the Senate?

First of all, I want to thank CP for the opportunity to join this common cause. As a long time reader, I look forward to delivering hot and fresh rants while maintaining the tone well established by the blog. My political outlook is different, so I look forward to seeing where the rubber meets the road, the sparks fly and the metaphors mix.

Remember way back to July 14th 2009? It was a far more innocent time. Tiger was just a golfer, and the Peoples' House introduced a healthcare bill that would cover all Americans. We all know what went down in the intervening months: Democrats ceded the floor to the loudest, craziest voices who told spook stories about euthanasia, immigrants, and abortions on demand. Despite the muttering din, Congress passed a health care bill, HR 3200. It would cover everyone and curb the rise in healthcare costs. There was a vote, 220-215, fair and square, winner takes all. Very democratic.

Now it's the Senate's turn. I get why the founding fathers set it up. It looks good on paper. We have wise, accomplished statesmen who study the issues calmly and cannot be swayed by the vulgar passions of the day. But come on, Wyoming has just as power to influence national legislation as California? California is 69 times larger than Wyoming. The Upper Chamber of Congress is apportioned so that small states- mostly white, rural, and conservative- elect a disproportionate number of senators.

Elections in small states cost less money, air time is cheap, competition is more relaxed. Senators are elected young, serve for lots and lots of years, and gain powerful senior committee assignments. Rich bundlers and corporate interests who deliver large pots of money have more impact on each election, and can weasel their way into the heart of even the purest Jefferson Smith (it was FICTION). Senator Blanche Lincoln (D- AR) is now potentially the 60th vote. She has tremendous power in writing the Health Care Bill. She can straddle the fault line, cagily concealing her intentions, and test the political water before diving in (http://arkansasnews.com/2009/12/16/lincoln’s-lr-office-becoming-health-care-reform-battleground/). Arkansas is the 32nd largest State.

While the game ain't over, and we sure didn't play it as well as we could have, look at the obstacles we (me and the President) are up against. Senators essentially each hold the ability to veto legislation that they do not prefer. They can collectively or individually block it in committees, with the filibuster, or ever more obscure parliamentary procedures. No doubt we will pass something and the President can claim victory. After this grinding process we will end up with a bill that Americans increasingly distrust (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform). I would argue that that trend has more to do with the water torture media spectacle, and less to do with the content of the bill which has been watered down as the support numbers slide. Democrats were elected last year, democracy should allow them to legislate accordingly. The real losers are Americans who must endure the tyranny of small states and big interests.