Politics boring? Never.

I’m feeling kinda guilty. I consider myself a political junkie, but lately, on many matters of national importance, I’m just not into it. The filibuster debate? Yawn. The fight over Social Security? Where’s my pillow? I should be passionate about these matters, but I simply can’t muster up any partisan rage. Give me more of Tom DeLay’s ethical lapses and sleazy doings. Give me voter repression in Ohio and Florida. Give me John Bolton. Give me off the wall conspiracy theories. I need red meat, dammit! And if I, a nerd who religiously watches ‘The Capital Gang’, feels this way, God knows how mostly apolitical people feel.
That being said, now that the filibuster debate is over (for now), here’s my feeling. Both sides arguments made absolute sense in purely theoretical terms. Maybe that’s why my feelings aren’t as strong on this. The filibuster is not a Constitutional right. But neither are many other Washington traditions. Hell, political parties aren’t mentioned in the Constitution. But at the same time, the Constitution does give the President the right to nominate federal judges, and if a Senator does not support the nominee, his role should be to vote ‘No’ at the confirmation hearings. Judicial nominees should get a vote on the floor, but the filibuster has not been the only method used. We needn’t look back far to see how many of Clinton’s nominees didn’t make it to the floor, not because of the filibuster, but because their nominations could not escape the Republican dominated Judiciary Committee.
Bottom line, both sides need to cut the shit and quit whining. Both sides are crying like little babies about the deal that was brokered. Have we become so lost that we’ve forgotten that compromising involves giving something up?
As for Social Security, wow, I got sleepy just typing the phrase. Talking Points Memo is easily the best resource concerning it. But just so you know, I’m for keeping things as they are. Don’t ask me to explain why or I may go into a coma.