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Feb. 8, 2013
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Jewish World Review
June 13, 2012/ 23 Sivan, 5772
Make the nation's laws; no experience necessary
By
Dale McFeatters
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The newspaper Politico has a scary take on the new Congress that will assume office in January: The serious and very difficult issues facing the country will be in the hands of one of the least experienced Congresses in decades.
Between the unusually large 2011 freshman class, retirements and defeated incumbents, the new Congress could have upward of 155 members with less than four years of experience, and " ... the chambers will be filled with rookies and sophomores unbound by the institution's traditions while having virtually no experience doing serious legislative work."
Or doing work of any kind in Congress.
The House, under both parties in recent years, sets up calendars that call for members to spend long periods of time back in their districts raising money and campaigning, then returning to Washington for a few days. One veteran lawmaker cracked that they don't have the time or the experience to know one end of the gavel from the other.
Politico says that an influx of new blood could bring fresh ideas and new energy. But based on the new members so far, it could just as easily mean a crop of confrontational, hyperpartisan zealots who don't feel they have to learn anything because they know with total certitude what they know.
Last summer, the new lawmakers came close to driving the nation into technical default; they forced the House leadership to renege on a deal that allowed the nation to stay solvent. Thanks to their intransigence, we still, after three years, don't have an essential national transportation bill and it's conceivable we may not get one, something to keep in mind as we revert to a nation of dirt roads.
Traditionally, lawmakers spent years building expertise and seniority in issues like defense, taxes, transportation, public works and health care, but the new breed, at least so far, disdains both seniority and expertise. They have their slogans and they're sticking to them.
But vital issues await both the lame-duck and the new Congress: What to do about extending the tax cuts? How to avoid an automatic across-the-board $1.3 trillion budget that the Pentagon says will seriously weaken the military? Some kind of planning for the impact of a European debt crisis, or the Chinese economy suddenly going flat? And preparing for another increase in the debt ceiling?
Come January, this country could go one of two ways. Nothing so far arouses any confidence that the newcomers will pick -- or are even capable of choosing -- the right direction.
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Previously:
• 06/11/12 The highway bill to nowhere
• 06/07/12 Planet Mars slated to become reality show
• 06/06/12 Spy agency magically produces two space
• 06/05/12 Make parties pay for conventions
• 06/04/12 Revised date for end of the world
• 05/31/12 Needed: A kinder, gentler . . . TSA
• 05/30/12 Keep U.N.'s hands off the Internet
• 05/25/12 Observe Memorial Day; it will only take a minute
• 05/24/12 Taxpayers taken for ride on subsidized EAS flights
• 05/23/12 Worsening traffic is a sign of recovery
• 05/17/12 U.S. needs a good third party
• 05/16/12 Earmarks quietly looking to make a comeback
• 05/15/12 Some good in war
• 05/14/12 Mayan discovery: It's safe to make plans for 2013
• 05/10/12 Save those 'Hillary!' buttons
• 04/18/12 Government service can be fun. Really.
• 04/17/12 Scandal, yes, but Cartagena had summit, too
• 04/16/12 When your car is smarter than you are
• 04/13/12 Lenders tiptoe back into world of credit risks
• 04/12/12 What do you mean you don't want a driver's license?
• 04/11/12 Smartphone anti-theft plan seems, um, smart
• 04/10/12 Bizarre process to choose a veep
• 04/09/12 From remote exurbs, cities don't look so bad anymore
• 04/06/12 We do want the fake Romney, not the 'real' one
• 04/05/12 Heaping even more indignities on air travelers
• 03/29/12 Blown away in Washington, D.C.
• 03/28/12 At the nuke summit an inadvertent moment of candor
• 03/27/12 A worse unemployment problem
• 03/23/12 The federal budget: A game of make-believe
• 03/21/12 In Iraq, blame the U.S., but drive American
• 03/20/12 Too late, bin Laden realized killing Muslims was a mistake
• 03/16/12 Hu and Wen leaving. China asks: What next?
• 03/14/12 Tide, favored by housewives and drug dealers alike
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• 03/06/12 Putin 'carousel voting' victory
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• 02/27/12 Every candidate has to have a tax-reform plan
• 02/23/12 Au revoir, mademoiselle: It's been bonne
• 02/21/12 A new way of attacking food-stamp fraud
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• 02/10/12 Filming in D.C. creates hassle for Hollywood
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• 01/02/12 Pragmatic look at top words
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• 12/21/12 Speculation and wishful thinking can get scary
• 12/20/11 A third Kim has North Korea by the throat
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• 12/15/11 The U.S. government is cashing in its chips, literally
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• 11/24/11 Congress Quietly Abolishing Friday
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• 10/28/11 Iran mulls getting rid of president and presidency
• 10/27/11 Bienvenidos a Dayton and bring your businesses with you
• 10/26/11 Archivists long for Obama's teleprompter
• 10/25/11 United Nations to run the Internet?
• 10/24/11 Attention, world: You've got the cash. We've got the houses
• 10/19/11 Oil pipeline must be in America's future
• 10/18/11 U.S. plans limited mission in an Africa with no limits
• 10/17/11 Social Security's grave mistakes
• 10/12/11 NASA's help-wanted sign for astronauts
• 10/10/11 Saving Thomas Jefferson''s chimneys
• 10/06/11 Uncle Sam's answer to deadbeats --- robo-calls
• 10/04/11 Christie should ignore jibes on his weight
• 10/03/11 Iran says its warships will head for Jersey shore
• 09/29/11 Europeans bristle at Obama's lectures
• 09/28/11 Jessica Rabbit for the defense
• 09/27/11 Russia learns outcome of next March's presidential election
• 09/26/11 Another try at leaving no child behind
• 09/23/11 This generation needs a job more than a name
• 09/22/11 In the lane next to you: A driverless car
• 09/20/11 Cloudy, cool, chance of falling satellite
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• 09/13/11 Paging Dr. Watson; he's there in 3 seconds
• 09/09/11 Forecasting 100 percent chance of heavy metal
• 09/08/11 A jobs program at Obama's doorstep
• 09/07/11 Iran's government afraid of the water
• 09/06/11 Congress returns, tanned, rested and testy
• 09/05/11 Space nations must clean up after themselves
• 09/02/11 Osama bin Laden died a failure and he knew it
• 09/01/11 Time to retire political pie in the face
• 08/31/11 Labor Day celebrates what, exactly?
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• 08/25/11 When in an earthquake, block traffic
• 08/23/11 A case for discretion in deportation arrests
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• 08/17/11 Time to prepare for the end game in Libya
• 08/16/11: Super Committee starts facing reality
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• 08/11/11: Relax. There is no Death Star
• 08/10/11: House pages run final errands
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• 08/08/11: Uncle Sam, the world's permanent guest
• 08/05/11: Most 9/11 victims not on federal death records
• 08/04/11: Russian PM calls U.S. a parasite. He should be so lucky
• 08/03/11: Congress goes from one bind to another
• 08/02/11: D.B. Cooper may no longer be a mystery
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• 07/29/11: He'll always be known as Hot Wheels Handler
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• 07/08/11: Debt crisis need not be constitutional crisis
• 07/07/11: Startups entice new talent with kickball, treehouses
• 07/05/11: Stranded tourists get rare treat
• 06/30/11: The dollar Americans refuse to spend
• 06/27/11: The hangman doesn't cometh
© 2011, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
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