What will Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine) get to logroll with the Democrats on a Health Care Public Option?Great references in yesterday's LA Times to logrolling, cloture, and why what happens in the House doesn't also follow through in the Senate.
What is your opinion of this type of dealmaking in Congress?
7 comments:
I think this type of deal-making is definitely legitimate. I mean, most lawmakers got where they are now through important political connections, so it makes sense that they would honor those. Also it would be very hard to get anything done if there weren't some individual concessions going on.
It's the nature of the beast, as old as politics. Read Machiavelli's (probably spelled it wrong) "Prince." Same deal. We have to compromise to get stuff done, even if it limits our ability to do the right thing. When we do comparative, I'd like to see if other nations (especially non-capitalist ones) do this whole "logrolling" thing. Is it unique to the "every-man-for-himself" interests of corporate America? Or is it a universal truth of the human condition?
Compromise is the fundamental theme of American politics. I don't think there are that many laws, if any, that are "one sided". Most of the real politics goes on behind the public eye anyways. So I feel that this type of deal-making is a reasonable fit in America.
Olympia Snowe was one of the few legislators we actually had putting forth some good ideas about healthcare reform. It's too bad that Democrats were unable to come to a compromise without ending up with a garbled mess.
I personally do agree with this type of deal-making. Compromise is an important aspect into getting things done and passed and that's what this is merely a compromise. These types of things must happen in order for anything to be accomplished.
I agree with what's been said; I feel this is completely legitimate. Utilizing connections with others and creating compromise is how you make strides in American politics. Nothing would get done if these compromises weren't made and sometimes that means gaining limitations in order to be successful in the end.
I see this type of deal making as a positive simply because although the tactics are not always the most moral, in the end, it is helping our government pass bills and legislature that ultimately helps its citizens. So, in this case, I do think the ends justify the means.
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