An article published today by politico.com describes how gridlock affects questions like traffic safety and the improvement of infrastructure. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood complains that although the Senate has already passed a long-term bill providing financial resources for improvements of U.S. infrastracture, he does not think that the House will act in a fashion that would enable the Administration to not only take care of urgent issues that would increase safety of traffic participants, but would also lead to a significant decrease in unemployment.
LaHood argues that Republicans do not even consider the content of the measure, but simply pursue the goal of denying President Obama any success regarding this issue.
Therefore, we are obviously confronted with a classical gridlock. This gets especially clear when LaHood points out that, from his point of view, the "only" obstacle for the passing of the bill is that there will be no cooperation between the Administration and the House majority before the election in November.
A blog and event series led by Professors David Schanzer and Don Taylor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy
This post shows political gridlock at its finest. It just baffles me how this kind of culture can develop in Washington. When are our politicians going to start taking responsibility for their actions? They were given the job of representing their constituents and governing our country. They are doing neither by continuously playing politics with legislation that affects the average American's life. It would make the likes of Ted Kennedy roll over in his grave.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would totally agree with that. It really struck me when I came across this article. Could hardly believe it that there are politicians who care more about denying Obama any "success" than making sure that people can drive safely home from work ... simply unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the commotion over employer provided birth control... How long will it take president Obama to realize that Republicans are not merely opposed to his proposed legislation but that they are actually opposed to him? It's very frustrating to watch these legislators halting perfectly practical legislation to gain political clout.
ReplyDeleteI can’t say that I particularly blame the Republicans for their actions here. All three of you are coming down hard on the GOP, but if a Republican were the President would you criticize the Democrats for similar tactics? It’s part of the political game (not that I like the political game), and I’m pretty sure that Democrats would do the same thing. I’m not saying that these actions are the right thing to do, but it does make sense in an election year. Passing this bill would create temporary jobs to make the economy look like it is much better off, but these jobs are for the most part temporary.
ReplyDeleteI’m not going to argue with building up our infrastructure though. It really is in a said state. I think that it is a great idea to build up our crumbling roads and dilapidated bridges, but the Democrats know that they have the GOP cornered if they put out legislation that it cannot support at this current time in the election cycle. It surely is a game of politics, but I feel that you cannot fault it for being illogical. Both sides are just playing the game.