Y'a know, I've thought this for some time.
Washington's Bad Old Days Worked Better Than the Good New Ones
When you look at how the sausage is made you become concerned about eating it. And then there are the unintended consequences of purity.
More below.
Who is the National Journal?
National Journal
National Journal is an American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley. It is now, along with The Hotline, part of National Journal Group, a division of Atlantic Media Company.
The magazine was established in 1969 by Thomas N. Schroth, who formed the publication after being fired from his post as editor of Congressional Quarterly, with many CQ staff defecting to the new publication.[1]
National Journal is aimed at Washington insiders.[2] It is mostly read by members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers, the White House, Executive Branch agencies, the media, think tanks, corporations, associations, and lobbyists. Most of the journal's content can be accessed only by subscribers. The yearly subscription rate is $1160, or $525 for just the weekly hardcopy magazine.
From the article:
In the past decade, Congress has become more transparent, less corrupt, and more responsive. This is good. But at the same time, it has become less functional, more partisan, and more deeply despised by the American people. With the best of intentions, it banished earmarks, pulled back the curtain on the lawmaking process, vilified the craft of politics, and “reformed” campaign finance, all in the hope of cleaning up the system. With the government closed, Congress gridlocked, and no resolution in sight, maybe it’s time to acknowledge that the 21st-century reform agenda has mostly failed.
And:
Institutional Washington is in a death spiral. It doesn’t function, so Americans disdain it and elect lawmakers who share their contempt. They, in turn, don’t do anything to fix it, so stagnation worsens. There’s a consequence to the Washington-bashing: “Every member of Congress runs for Congress by running against Congress,” says Lee Hamilton, who served 34 years on the Hill as a Democrat from Indiana and now directs the Center on Congress at Indiana University. “But it eventually becomes a dangerous proposition.”
Disdain for Washington has become almost a litmus test for politicians in both parties. They stigmatize living here full time, and today’s congressional calendars allow for more and more time back home. The goal—to keep lawmakers in touch with their constituents—is commendable, but the result creates fewer opportunities for lawmakers to work, let alone socialize, together. “The solution is … a return to the regular order of doing business,” Hamilton says. “For a couple hundred years, we developed a process in this country.… It was not a smooth process; it was messy, it was partisan. But it fundamentally worked.”
I can envision LBJ, sitting in his office, feet up on the "sacred desk", scratching his balls and calling Everett Dirkson every day to drive his agenda...
For example:
Tuesday, October 1, 1968 - 10:31am
Ah, the good ole days, that's how you bend Rethugs to your will as President of the G.D. U.S.A. The opposition are "anarchists"? Really? That's the best we got?
'scuse me, I think I have an itch.