Comments about ‘Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Nation flounders with Congress that keeps dithering’

Since we have a Do-Nothing Congress, it seems only right that congresspeople not be paid when work is not performed. These people recieve a very good government salary, large budgets for staff and generous perks, and the best healthcare and benefits available. Although some may like this situation (particularly Tea Party types who want to get rid of government), it's certain that the Do-Nothing Tea Party congresspeople don't want to go that far and lose their jobs. But we should get something for our money. Otherwise, anyone on the street could do their job and vote "No" on legislation. Who needs to understand anything when all you do is vote "No".

Only corporate and Wall Street titans have it better. However, they want to keep government because government is money to them. It's big bucks in when government funnels contracts and re-writes legislation to the benefit of these Masters of the Universe.

Maybe congress could write legislation removing the regulatory authority of the USDA and limit liability for the growers of tainted cantelopes. This would be something the Do-Nothing Congress might be able to do since they don't want to do anything for Americans.

Yes the tea party and the lobbyists for the billionaires are in control of the house. The tea party is not about governing but about deconstructing for the political gain.

Several Democrats voted for Reagan's tax cuts and G.W.Bush's tax cuts even though they were not popular with the party as a whole. These Democrats faced no reprisals for their actions. Contrast that to the actions of Republicans in the Obama era.

This is one of the best op-eds I've read in a long time. Thank you. It's hard to imagine that Congress will be able to adequately address any of our problems until the voters sober up.

Gus, I wish tea-party congressmen/women were do-nothing, but they're typically fervent supporters of the military/police state and world empire. Conservatives and liberals are both avid government interventionists, just in different ways.

Best solution to a do nothing Congress? Get the tea party wachos who are screwing things up out of office. They weren't "divinely" called to screw up our credit rating and so many others things.

Thank goodness for the Tea Party. They focused attention on the unconscionable borrowing and spending that is killing the economy. Their accomplishments prevented the debt ceiling from being raised with no limit on spending, nor even discussion of reduced spending. Of course the cut in spending was minuscule, but it has brought needed attention and future action on reducing spending. Sure, readers will likely ask: "Why didn't you complain about Bush?" I did. It was Bush followed by Obama that led to the creation of the Tea Party. We are fed up with Congress and the Administration of from both parties for their reckless spending and their focus on re-election. Speaking of that, the President should be in Washington working and not out campaigning so very, very much. It is as if he is trying to wear out Air Force One. Just Notice he has gone somewhere more than he has stayed in D.C.

We had a do something congress the first two years of this administration. Thats the problem, they did something...they over-did everything. Spending, regulations, bailouts, etc. Now we have this almighty mess and its the new congresses fault? ha ha! I hope we have many more congresses that do nothing, expeciually spend more that we have to spend.

If The New Jersey Governor is in the tea party and Senator tea Lee type's are out.

Next I suppose gentlemen that you advocate the need for a national unity candidate or perhaps even better a King. Afterall, one man with the right amount of power would certainly make the decision process much faster. This democracy thing is so messy, how can we ever survive?

Re: one vote | 6:44 a.m. Oct. 2, 2011
"Yes the tea party and the lobbyists for the billionaires are in control of the house"

Actually the Tea Party members of congress were elected by their constituents, and it was those voters who put Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the back of the House bus. The Tea Party has Obama sweating and his handlers have admitted it.

Democratic strategist James Carville has just one word of advice for President Barack Obama: Panic.

Maybe the Congress can do something positive once Harry Reid is not in control.

Congress, espscially the right who openly admit thier fondness for big business are the play thing of Wall Street. Why should congress have a higher aproval rating than Wall Street?

It all goes through the House first. Republicans said "jobs must be first" then when they came back from vacation they delayed the presidents jobs speech to name post offices.

It's possible that -- even if Americans and (even more so) their political caste weren't becoming generally dumber -- the expansion of government's scope, can't help causing a diminution of its confidence.

Government's writing checks its competence can't cash. Unjustifiedly convinced it's staffed by the smartest guys in the room, it's advertising itself as able to undertake tasks that quite possibly are beyond the ability of any one authority.

FDR (no Tea Partier, he) administered the New Deal and won World War II with a White House staff numbering, if I recall correctly, 120 people. The Obama White House has ten times that.

The New Deal-era Securities & Exchange Act had a few dozen pages. The recent Dodd-Frank "reform" has hundreds.

See the pattern? We're throwing more and more words, and more and more sinecured staffers, at the same old problems -- and not only do we still have them, we've tied ourselves so up in knots that we couldn't possibly achieve the positive achievements of the New Deal era itself.

Gus,

"Maybe congress could write legislation removing the regulatory authority of the USDA and limit liability for the growers of tainted cantelopes."

You must be misinformed. There are no tainted cantelopes. There couldn't possibly be. We have regulations against that sort of thing. And regulations work. Only a wicked Tea Partier could possibly believe otherwise.

Gus, I've never met a Tea Partier who wanted to get rid of *all* government. The "anarchists" are, in fact, all on your side. (Except the idea of "anarchists" running around demanding increased government services is a contradiction in terms I've never quite been able to wrap my Proudhon-reading mind around.)

When the Executive and the Senate are in the clutches of a reckless, close-minded, and innumerate faction, which seems to think "Atlas Shrugged" was an operating manual rather than a cautionary tale, a do-nothing House is the best anyone can hope for. At least your boys can't make it *worse*.

The Democrats simply don't get it.

Democrats in Congress are in open revolt. "The reason is simple: Democrats in the House and Senate stand for re-election in just 13 months, and their campaigns will be difficult enough without raising taxes just before voters go to the polls. Said a blunt Mr. Durbin: There are some senators who are up for election who say Im never gonna vote for a tax increase while Im up for election, even on the wealthiest people. - Joseph Curl-The Washington Times Sunday, October 2, 2011