I am generally a positive person. A guiding principle I live by is to interpret my neighbor's actions in the best possible light. It reminds me of the common humanity we share and is a helpful guard against demonizing the people with whom I disagree.
The collective behavior of today's GOP is making it more and more difficult to abide by this idea.
Case in point: Today's stimulus vote in the Senate. In order to pass today, there need to be 60 votes. Minus Sen. Kennedy there are currently 60 votes for the bill. The problem?
Sherrod Brown's (D-OH) mother passed away earlier this month. Today, Sen. Brown is back in Ohio to visit with family and friends for the wake. Calling hours are from 2-4 and 6-8. The vote on the bill is scheduled for 7 p.m.
So in order to pass this legislation, members of the GOP are making Sen. Brown leave the wake (and possibly miss part of it) to come to D.C. then return back to Ohio tonight or tomorrow morning so he can attend his own mother's funeral.
Sad, gross, perverse.
If you live in a state with a Republican senator, could you call your senator and ask him/her to drop this 60 vote requirement so Sen. Brown can grieve with his family? Perhaps we are at a point where, procedurally, nothing can happen, but it's worth a shot.
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One last note...I post this out of sadness, not as a GOP pile on post. Hopefully some phone calls can change the dynamic. I realize one cannot control comments, but I would ask that commentors try and refrain from making remarks that are unseemly.