Small wonder that public approval of Congress ranges between 13 and a scant 15 percent. The year started with chaos and the gelding of Speaker Kevin McCarthy after 15 marathon rounds of voting. It ends with the House commencing an evidence-free impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden, after spending three weeks defenestrating McCarthy, who may be best remembered for reneging …
Continue reading Fed up with Congress? Here’s one of the good guys!
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is a lightning rod for antipathy to the Democratic Party. And she's a great fundraising opportunity for Republicans, who are using her possible restoration as Speaker to rally the GOP to keep the House, just as they used Ted Kennedy as a fundraising bogeyman years ago. But Republicans aren't the …
Very knowledgeable politicians speaking in Boston last Monday expressed qualified hopes that Congress could actually get something done. They pointed to the recent "doc fix," a remedy for the unrealistic curtailment of Medicare payments to providers. The bill passed by the House and awaiting Senate action even reauthorized CHIP (the children's health plan) and provided some …
Continue reading Presidential race will thwart progress in Congress
The wall of failed 1972 liberal Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern's Washington office bore a photo of failed 1964 conservative Republican nominee Barry Goldwater with the inscription, "If you're going to lose, lose big." Both lost in landslides, disagreed on any number of issues, but they were friends, joined by humor and good will. Worcester Congressman …
Continue reading McGovern urges return to politics of people skills
Marjorie Arons-Barron 