US lawmakers returning today from a weeklong break will resume work on a long list of unfinished -- and possibly insurmountable -- tasks that could help decide whether voters will reelect them in November.
I’m not sure who other than sadomasochists could possibly justify returning these Republicans to office in November. Even a hardline conservatives like former House Republican leader Dick Armey is disgusted by this Congress’ inability to get anything done.
``I'm not sure what this Congress has accomplished," said Dick Armey, who is now with FreedomWorks, which advocates lower taxes and less government.
In the first two-thirds of the 2006 legislative session, the Boston Globe reports, Congress has passed two major bills: renewal of the Patriot Act and an extension of $70 billion in federal tax cuts. That’s it. What a pathetic record of non-accomplishment. Political scientist Larry Sabato sums things up pretty well:
``Historically, this is certainly not a Congress that will be remembered," said Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. ``There is just not much there."
Instead of tackling serious issues like the dozen spending bills that have to be addressed by Oct. 1 or legislation needed to shore up pension protections for 44 million workers, we have watched lawmakers waste time posturing over flag burning amendments and gay marriage.
Republican lawmakers should be happy that they are not working in the private sector or else they would have been laid off a long time ago.
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