Voting in congress (#328, Topic P)

It is always interesting to read how the congress spends its time when it is in session. The most pressing topic confronting it at the moment, it seems, is to debate/vote on President Bush's "surge" of troop deployment in Iraq. Indeed, today's Washington Post has this as its front-page story; its headline says: "7 GOP Senators Back War Debate: Lawmakers Had Blocked Action on Troop Resolution." Reading in context, it seems that, last week, the Senate's minority leader, using procedural tactics, allowed the debate to go on and on -- thereby delaying, if not preventing, a vote on the issue itself. If a democracy's signal feature is to vote, it is really interesting to read that, once elected, a senator or a representative would prefer not to vote -- at least not to vote on substantive matters. A columnist in today's WP comments: "The result of [the minority leader's] tactics is that no resolution will be passed by the Senate anytime soon." He then follows with this gem: "The White House was overjoyed." Interesting. Today's WP, on A2, has a chronology of work done by the house yesterday. Voting on a bill "commending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln volleyball team." Voting to remember "a deceased NASCAR driver." Voting to name "a court house in Duluth, Minn." Voting to honor "the grandfather of two congressmen." And a "full debate, ... congratulating the Indianapolis Colts for winning the Super Bowl." Two Indiana Republican representatives asked for "unanimous consent to add to the Congressional Record the names of all the members of the Colts offense, defense, substitutions and the coaching staff." Another Republican representative, from Tennessee, even added that Peyton Manning, Colts' quarterback voted the MVP, "is married to a Chattanooga girl." Interesting. Really interesting. A member of the Congress spends many millions of dollars to be elected, and earns between $135,000 and $165,000 per year. And then votes as "people's representative." Well done.