Tannishblog

Filibuster. Say that ten time fast. I’ve always thought it’s a silly sounding word. But it can’t beat the silliness that has replaced reason within our legislative branch. What started as a schoolyard scuffle has escalated into a paralytic misadventure of American governance.

Just because some cocksure, arrogant, hyper inflated gasbag (Bill Frist) spouts off about changing the rules because he doesn’t like the game, the American people have to watch as our government grinds to a standstill. As a bully, this grown up child wants to win by changing the game, because he knows he can’t win through his talents of his efforts. All we have to do is close our eyes and reminisce to hear the neighborhood bully’s voice come our of Bill’s mouth. Complete with the exaggerated whine.

“I don’t liiiike this gaaaame! Heee’s Cheeeeeting!”

Because he’s a bully, the weaker kids, having misgivings about being allied to him, must go along for fear of a black eye or bloody nose. Tomorrow morning, they might be accosted for their lunch money. So they hide their fear behind masks as they secretly with a teacher will come out of the building and stop the fight before it happens.

The Team’s unofficial captain, who just wants to play the game and have some fun (Harry Reid) finds himself in the unenviable position of teaching the bully a lesson: He’s holding the ball and won’t let go until the bully plays fair. But he underestimated the tenacity of the bully mentality. At this school, there is a history of successful bullying, and this one admires a few. He won’t give up, because now that he drew the line in the playlot, he sees other kids gather around him. Peer group pressure complicates this faceoff.

So far, the shouting match hasn’t gotten physical, but it’s only a matter of time. All wars, no matter how trivial they start, escalate until one or both parties are injured. But this war of principal is different. The bully – and the captain – are representative of the American judiciary, and by proxy, the American people. The peer pressure is enormous, and win, lose, or draw, this impasse will likely signal the end of a political career.

What is silly to me is it really doesn’t matter if they bust the filibuster, because a future congress can re-institute it, just as the current congress has reversed our last President’s No Roads ruling on national forests. Few seemed to mind that this was wiped clean. Fewer yet seem to understand the precedence this congress has shown in the ephemeral state of the union’s laws. On one level, both parties are culpable, on another level neither party is liable. If one party wins it also loses accountability, the Republicans will be seen by their detractors as grabbing power, the Democrats will be seen by their critics as stalling due process: No one wins.

No matter the outcome on the hill, the losers are already being counted among the citizens of this nation, as a further loss of faith in the federal government. Our government can’t represent the people who chose not to vote because they’re disenfranchised, yet our supposed leaders continue to polarize the nation, continue to play silly schoolyard games of power, continue to alienate the citizenry. Again no one wins.

Win, lose or draw – all are losers.