A Lesson for Congress (from the Immigration fiasco)

Ever since I was small and began to try and understand our political process it seemed that part of the explanation was that political success depended on each side compromising and giving up something but getting something and thus the process moves forward. No one perfectly happy and no one ignored. At first glance and for a long time there was a reasonableness to this explanation. What has unfortunately happened over the years is that our elected officials have begun to use this strategy to devise bigger, more comprehensive pieces of legislation which they don’t read, which they don’t understand, and about which they have no idea of the true costs but into which they can inject unrelated spending measures that they can then parade before their constituents and a collegial pattern of allowing all to ‘vote’ in such manner as to provide cover for each member and promote their political lifetimes at the ever increasing expense of the country. They have thus immorally come to use the legislative process as a campaign tool rather than for the proper and much harder process of improving the republic.

The end result of this misuse is a long string of legislation that does not work well (if at all) at it’s stated purpose, that costs much more than advertised, and contains little or no accountability or productive review by our elected officials of their own work. Examples include immigration, social security, medicare, and the abhorrent tax code. The end result is that the Congress has achieved historic lows in public confidence all the while being individually reelected in greater percentages. Our government is broken and our failure to act puts the entire republic at risk.

The recent immigration fiasco brought this untenable approach thankfully to it’s knees. The immigration bill was ill composed, written outside of usual legislative processes, negotiated in back rooms, and was pushed by the leadership using every procedural tactic possible regardless of the feedback from the American people. No bill should have 300 page amendments, period. Harry Reid cried that Bush needed to ‘deliver’ Republican Senators, tacitly acknowledging that the Senate is NOT an independent body as it should be but is in reality just a part of the “reelect us” government apparatus. Internet and talk radio outlets focused and informed the American people and made such an impact that the Senate was not allowed to perform it’s shady business as usual. This fact caused many to cry “foul” and seek to consider measures that would allow these outlets to be “controlled” in some manner.

The lesson to government in general and to Congress in particular from these last days is that rather than writing ever bigger and more complex legislation (behind which you provide each other political cover), pass simpler bills that 1) nearly everyone can agree on, 2) can be measured as to effectiveness, and 3) can be understood by all concerned (including the public). In this way alone can the confidence of the American people be regained. Speak and vote the truth and say what you really mean. Pass legislation by votes of 80%/20% that you have actually read and the American people will again support you. Pass quality legislation that you are proud of not simply whatever is the best that can be cobbled together at any particular time. The current practice of pushing together disjointed and disparate measures like opposing magnets will always fly apart sooner or later. Err in the direction of smaller steps, not bigger ones. Taking no step is better than taking an errant step.

In the case of immigration the needed direction for Congress is clear; secure the border, enforce current laws, and monitor what is happening to insure it’s success. Then the existing illegal immigrants can be addressed after the leak is stopped. Don’t be childish and complain that “if we can’t pass it all, we won’t pass anything”. That is not why you were elected but such an attitude will likely insure you can undertake your next career sooner rather than later.