There is an awful stench coming off the Potomac. Everybody smells it, yet as we look to Capital Hill to see who supplied it, we’re met with silence – much like the one that fills a room of giddy teenagers at a slumber party when a SBD is released. No teenager will admit it and the conversation quickly moves on to the latest pop culture gossip. In the Senate, however, after the awkward silence they all point fingers and run around sniffing each others asses in hopes of outing the guilty party.
The problem is, they’re all leaving smoke bombs behind them. And one Senator can’t take the smell anymore.
Evan Bayh of Indiana is retiring and will not seek re-election this Fall, even though he was a moderate Democrat heavily favored to win. His decision was considered a shock and left a lot of people scratching their heads. Well, Bayh crafted a letter to explain his reasoning, which you can read here in full.
Bayh’s main point was that Washington is too partisan to get anything done. Bayh’s solution – eat lunch together once a month. Bayh bemoaned the loss of relationships among Democrats and Republicans, citing a friendship between his father and a Republican Senator.
I’m certain that Bayh is speaking from experience, he has been a Senator since 1999. So, why then has he not tried to change the awful atmosphere during that time? And, if it’s gotten worse, why is he leaving? If he has a letter filled with solutions for how to make Washington more pleasant, why is he stepping down? He’s just complaining that D.C. is a shit hole while running away with his shovel, leaving 99 other Senators standing knee deep in feces without any way to get out.
I think Senator Bayh should stay and work on this problem especially when his proposed solutions, campaign finance and filibuster reform, are being crafted into legislation as we speak. If an even tempered man such as himself is throwing up his hands and saying “whatever, nothing can be done” then that doesn’t leave much hope for the rest of us.
Even if the Senate does pass those reforms and both parties start chowing down together every Wednesday, those “solutions” will have about the same effect an air freshener has at a trash dump if Moderates of both parties continue to flee instead of holding their ground.
Cuz I got a feeling it’s gonna take a lot more than just monthly lunches to dig Washington out of their own stink. It’s gonna take a rebirth of Moderates in Congress.
