Politics, A Lost Art #256
By Hank Silverberg
Politics is the Art of Compromise. At least that's what we are all taught in Political Science 101. The model for good government was supposed to work like this: each side of an issue presents their position and why they think they have the best solution on a particular issue. Then there's debate, and after some discussion, which can get heated
they settle on a compromise. Each side gives a little and our lawmakers end up with a solution that may not make everyone happy, but a solution that will work well for the majority of the population in "providing for the common Defence and general welfare of the United States" as it says in the Constitution. It didn't always work that way, but that was the idea. If you are under 50, you have probably never seen this kind of compromise, because sometime in the 1980's or early 90's, this concept simply disappeared from many decisions by federal, state and local legislators. In the 80's and 90's it was all about political party and the belief that your party's values were good for the country. Lawmakers did what was best for the party. But these days it appears to be all about immovable ideology promoted by small groups without any concern for the country as a whole.
Nowhere was that more evident than in the past week's battle over Speaker of the House.
The Democrats did what the party out of power always does, they nominated someone to lead them (Hakeem Jeffries D- NY), and then waited for the majority party, this year the Republicans, to choose a House Speaker. I won't do a play-by-play here because we have all seen the movie 15 times. Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was finally chosen for that job on the 15th ballot after making some very significant concessions to a small right- wing group within his own party. It was the most divisive decision, with more rounds, than any other vote for Speaker since 1859, right before the country split into civil war.
https://www.newsweek.com/five-key-concessions-kevin-mccarthy-gave-win-house-speakership-1772105
The question now, is how the Republicans will function under the new Speaker when they have only ten more votes than the Democrats, and 20 or so Republicans who simply don't like McCarthy and think "compromise" is a dirty word.
Example: here's just one of the concessions McCarthy made in order to get the Speaker's job. Under new rules, which are always set by the majority party, at any time any one lawmaker can call for McCarthy to be replaced. That has never happened before. And there have been only two attempts in history under the old, more complex rules to replace a Speaker in mid-term.
What this concession means is that every time the majority of the Republicans agree on something, with or without Democratic support, one congressman who disagrees with the majority can call for the Speaker to be replaced.
So, McCarthy now has to cow-tow to the 30 or so arch conservatives on almost every bill that comes before the House. You can expect to see floor votes on radical right-wing bills that have little chance of passing the full House. And you will see committee investigations that will make the ridiculous unproductive and highly partisan 2012 Benghazi hearings look rational. (They weren't at the time.)
Here is an example on hearings: Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry, who's phone was seized as part of the Justice Department's probe into the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is now planning to hold hearings to investigate the FBI, which is still investigating him.
In fact, as part of the concessions to the small group of right-wingers, McCarthy has given a new subcommittee the power to investigate the "weaponization" of the federal government with unprecedented power to access classified information and review on-going criminal investigations.
What else is on the group's agenda? The first bill they want to take up is repealing a decision by the last Congress to hire 87,000 new IRS agents who were to handle the backlog of tax cases that piled up during the Trump years and the pandemic.
That right-wing group is also talking about cuts in defense spending and cutting aide to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
What's likely to happen? Stalemate on almost everything, with the rhetoric getting heated up as we get closer to the 2024 presidential election.
The Threat to a Major American Asset
One of the world's greatest assets, a key to the vast ecosystem of the American West and the source of a billion dollars in economic activity, is under threat of extinction.
And this is not just about water. If the lake does dry up, it could threaten the health of millions of people from toxic dust in the exposed lakebed. There are 2.5 million people living near the lake shore who would be directly affected. More than 800 square miles of lake sediments laced with arsenic, mercury and other dangerous substances has already been exposed,which can be picked up with the wind and spread even further away.
The issue is not completely lost on local politicians. Last year Utah appropriated $40 million to help save the lake, and more is being proposed this year.
One of the biggest problems to overcome is water use by a variety of industries in several states. By the time rivers and streams feed into the lake, there is very little water left.
This is another clear example of how climate change is impacting us now, but I am sure there will be a large group of right-wingers who will claim it's all a fraud created by the mainstream media and woke Democrats.
Don't Look Up!
The sky is falling! Well, not really, but there's a small chance that a piece from an old satellite might be falling from the sky any time now. A 40- year-old retired satellite is expected to burn up in the atmosphere as it falls from orbit. NASA says most of the satellite won't make it to the ground, but parts of the 5,400-pound space craft could slip through.
It's called ERBS, and it was launched by the space shuttle Challenger on Oct 5, 1984. It was only supposed to work for two years, but it actually kept working until 2005 measuring the effects of human activities on Earth's radiation balance. 
(ERBS, courtesy of NASA)
There are a number of other Clouds and the Earth's Radiation Energy system satellites launched at later dates still doing that job.
NASA says the chance of someone being hurt by falling debris from this satellite are "very low."
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
Another repeat offender this week. It centers on that fight over the House Speaker and the absolute absurdity of the current GOP.
"If y'all thought that was good, just wait till we take the fight to Joe Biden and the radical left."
The comment is from Republican Colorado Congresswoman and light weight Lauren Boebert who was one of the five or six GOP members who held out until the end in electing McCarthy as Speaker. The thing is, Congresswoman, what we witnessed was NOT good. And your party's small majority in the House gives you very little leeway to get anything done without some cooperation with the Democrats. I suspect Republicans will spend too much time getting their own act together rather than moving their agenda ahead. Considering their agenda, that inaction may be good for the country.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-
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