Some people believe that the Senate is “broken” when it doesn’t pass new government programs promptly and without extended debate. But we have two houses of Congress for a reason. The Founders expected the House to be subject to momentary passions, and they intended the Senate to be more cautious, prudent, and resistant to “rushing to judgment.” As George Washington supposedly said, “we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.” When the Senate deliberates at length, when it resists the pressure of the White House, the House, and even public opinion, it isn’t “broken”; it is fulfilling its intended function.
Of course, pre-17th Amendment, the Senate's job was to protect federalism. Post-17th Amendment, the Senate's job is to protect The Party System.
1 comment:
...and the special interest groups that line their pockets with money, be it the oil industry, abortion mills, environmentalists, and lawyer associations to name a few. Absent though is the American people and states.
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