The silent stars go by

"At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time."
--Charles Dickens

I rarely watch C-Span, but the Senate action on Obama's compromise tax bill -- paying the wealthy tribute in exchange for a few crumbs tossed to the poor and unemployed -- drew my fascinated attention, and I tuned into the debate. While the Senate fended off amendments one by one on C-Span 2, the House was passing weird resolutions one by one on C-Span.

The resolutions themselves weren't actually so weird -- in fact, they were so innocuous that I can now recall only the one congratulating Cam Newton for winning the Heisman trophy, the only resolution that drew any negative votes at all. What was weird was watching the House devote an inordinate portion of the day to considering and voting on these resolutions. What was even weirder was that -- although all but the Newton resolution passed unanimously -- a Republican stood and demanded the yeas and nays on each, rather than allow passage by voice vote.

Over in the Senate, meanwhile, the amendments to the tax bill were being defeated, each one after limited debate and an interminable calling of the roll by the Senate clerk. Considering the importance of the measure, I wasn't particularly shocked by the time it took to dispose of the amendments, and to reach the final vote.

What did shock me was that the next major matter to be considered was approval of the critical nuclear arms reduction treaty, and that some Republicans planned to demand that the entire treaty be read to the Senate, an effort that would consume another 12 hours of the Senate's time. They just had to learn what the treaty was all about, they claimed, although the treaty was signed eight months ago, and was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, after hearings, three months ago. When you're a busy Senator, I suppose, it's hard to keep track of these things.

Still pending after ratification (maybe) of the START treaty are a large number of judicial confirmations, action on repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (passed today by the House), and re-passage of a food safety bill to correct a procedural error when it was approved earlier, a minor matter that was being used for delay by the GOP. The Senate leadership wants to keep the Senate in session to clear these matters off the agenda before adjourning for Christmas. The Republicans are outraged at having to stick around town worrying about the nation, rather than going home early for the holidays:

“It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out without doing — frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate, not just the senators themselves but all of the staff.”

Gosh, guys, where was your concern for families, staff, Christianity, and the revered institution of the Senate when you were metaphorically reading the phone book into the Congressional Record?

Business as usual in today's America.

Merry Christmas.