This article seems to shift blame for our lazy congress to the leaders who won't let anything pass. I get the notion, but in truth, the rank and file ELECT their leaders and could oust them at any time. I'm not ready to give the rank-and-file a pass when they still very much hold the power to undo the knots that keep their hands tied.
Interesting article. I have two questions that you might answer: What is the political incentive for leadership to kill widely popular bills? If there is a supermajority, their party can just as easily (if not more so) take credit for this popular initiative. Some examples of why Mike Johnson is holding up these bills would be helpful to understand his motivation, and by extension, what we might expect from Jeffries, should he become Speaker.
The second question is more of a request - can you provide a similar analysis of what prevents the Senate from moving legislation, other than the filibuster? What levers does Thune have to prevent popular, uncontroversial legislation from receiving a vote in his chamber?
While I understand that the purpose of the post is to examine the inability of Congress, you mention Jared Golden's , D-Me, bill, which is actually the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026. Because my field is ecology and conservation, I would like to point out that The bill mentions the Atlantic Large Whale…. presumably exact species are mentioned somewhere, because there is no Atlantic Large Whale species. There are, however, Lobstermen in several states and adjacent Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick. So, Lobstermen, in general, are not endangered.
The fact that lobsters are in decline (at reasonable depths) is also an entirely different matter. Northern Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) (or North Atlantic Right Whales) are harmed by long lines. Their populations are finally increasing to a level considered -Critically Endangered. That is only Slightly above= functionally extinct.
I will stop my tangential contribution before it gets any more detailed (and thus, complicated)and I take this further away from Congressional legislation and function.
Great article, thanks Gabe. I also echo DerekF below, wanting to know more about obstacles in the Senate and incentives for why party leadership obstructs popular legislation. Thx
The fact that popular bills (with support approaching 300) can't pass the 218-vote discharge petition hurdle is clear evidence of party politics taking precedence over effective governance. This is a very helpful discussion of some of the complications preventing legislation from full consideration, but it would also be good to delve into why it is that the leaders of both parties currently agree with each other (in effect) that it's best to block bipartisanship from taking place.
When one party is led by an outright criminal, the other party feels obligated to deploy any maneuver it can to regain control; and we spiral into politics as war instead of politics as compromise.
I tried to post this on the veterans subreddit and it wanted me to find another subreddit it fit better :( I think the information on the Star bill halfway through was extremely informative and relevant! oh well.. I tried! This is a great post on what is going on with our legislative branch. thx for this!
House dems refused to vote in favor of a measure “denouncing socialism” bc it also “reaffirms its support for free, fair, and secure elections and calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act”
This omission, imo, complicates that vote and doesn’t share the whole picture of why it isn’t getting passed. I don’t know the other bills, but now I wonder why they aren’t getting passed as well.
Thank you for this great article! It is so irritating to vote for someone with all their promises and then have them hide behind their party in bi-partisan times. Some of the holdups are insane. Maybe get a President who could issue an EO that the legislative branches don't get their salaries until they actually put to a vote a certain percentage of bi-partisan bills each year.
This article seems to shift blame for our lazy congress to the leaders who won't let anything pass. I get the notion, but in truth, the rank and file ELECT their leaders and could oust them at any time. I'm not ready to give the rank-and-file a pass when they still very much hold the power to undo the knots that keep their hands tied.
Interesting article. I have two questions that you might answer: What is the political incentive for leadership to kill widely popular bills? If there is a supermajority, their party can just as easily (if not more so) take credit for this popular initiative. Some examples of why Mike Johnson is holding up these bills would be helpful to understand his motivation, and by extension, what we might expect from Jeffries, should he become Speaker.
The second question is more of a request - can you provide a similar analysis of what prevents the Senate from moving legislation, other than the filibuster? What levers does Thune have to prevent popular, uncontroversial legislation from receiving a vote in his chamber?
While I understand that the purpose of the post is to examine the inability of Congress, you mention Jared Golden's , D-Me, bill, which is actually the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026. Because my field is ecology and conservation, I would like to point out that The bill mentions the Atlantic Large Whale…. presumably exact species are mentioned somewhere, because there is no Atlantic Large Whale species. There are, however, Lobstermen in several states and adjacent Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick. So, Lobstermen, in general, are not endangered.
The fact that lobsters are in decline (at reasonable depths) is also an entirely different matter. Northern Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) (or North Atlantic Right Whales) are harmed by long lines. Their populations are finally increasing to a level considered -Critically Endangered. That is only Slightly above= functionally extinct.
I will stop my tangential contribution before it gets any more detailed (and thus, complicated)and I take this further away from Congressional legislation and function.
Great article, thanks Gabe. I also echo DerekF below, wanting to know more about obstacles in the Senate and incentives for why party leadership obstructs popular legislation. Thx
The fact that popular bills (with support approaching 300) can't pass the 218-vote discharge petition hurdle is clear evidence of party politics taking precedence over effective governance. This is a very helpful discussion of some of the complications preventing legislation from full consideration, but it would also be good to delve into why it is that the leaders of both parties currently agree with each other (in effect) that it's best to block bipartisanship from taking place.
When one party is led by an outright criminal, the other party feels obligated to deploy any maneuver it can to regain control; and we spiral into politics as war instead of politics as compromise.
I tried to post this on the veterans subreddit and it wanted me to find another subreddit it fit better :( I think the information on the Star bill halfway through was extremely informative and relevant! oh well.. I tried! This is a great post on what is going on with our legislative branch. thx for this!
House dems refused to vote in favor of a measure “denouncing socialism” bc it also “reaffirms its support for free, fair, and secure elections and calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act”
This omission, imo, complicates that vote and doesn’t share the whole picture of why it isn’t getting passed. I don’t know the other bills, but now I wonder why they aren’t getting passed as well.
To quote the humorist Will Rodgers: "Contempt of Congress, is our true national sport.".
Thank you for this great article! It is so irritating to vote for someone with all their promises and then have them hide behind their party in bi-partisan times. Some of the holdups are insane. Maybe get a President who could issue an EO that the legislative branches don't get their salaries until they actually put to a vote a certain percentage of bi-partisan bills each year.
The whole system is fraud. They don’t represent their constituents.