A lot doesn't get done in Washington, and that's how they like it.
Dick Cheney, as vice president, was loathed by the Left. He was called Darth Vader and often compared to Peter Sellers' lunatic warmonger character, Dr. Strangelove. After 9/11, he seemed to live out of the White House bunker, where he planned U.S. wars all over the world. He was in those days considered the "extreme" of the Republican Party, and in true Kamala fashion, made the press feel that George W. Bush was almost normal in comparison to his loco vice president.
So it was strange to see Rachel Maddow, Tony Fauci, James Carville, and others who, in the day, probably loathed Cheney sitting attentively at his funeral. If you had told me that they went there to make sure that he was dead, then I would have felt better. But what were card-carrying lefties doing at the funeral of the evil, neocon, Halliburton, bad-shooting hunter who never saw a war that he didn't like? They were teaching us a very valuable lesson. There is the uniparty, and then there is Donald Trump. The Right and Left in American politics have more in common with each other than they do with Donald Trump and those who put him into office. Much of the sclerosis in Washington is baked into the system of coequal branches of government. The Founders did not want things done too quickly, so there are checks and balances that slow many things down in the federal government. But much of the slow-motion is due to our politicians not particularly liking the people whom they are supposed to serve. They like massive debt, weak voting rules, and USAID for everybody!
Let's look at voting laws. Donald Trump has correctly identified significant weaknesses in U.S. voting procedures. From foreigners voting to a lack of picture ID required, from paper ballots to weeks of voting prior to "Election Day," there is plenty of room for fraud and shenanigans. Donald Trump wants to make voting simple and easy and align it with the procedures in normal countries: proof of citizenship, picture ID, same-day voting, and paper ballots. Now, if the Republicans wanted to check the Democrats at the ballot box and continue to rule for years to come, then they would be chomping at the bit to do the president's bidding to shore up American election procedures. But they are not. The president suggested getting rid of the filibuster so as to allow the 53 Republican senators to pass legislation reflecting a more secure voting program. The leader of the party in the Senate, John Thune, does not seem particularly interested in removing the filibuster. And truth be told, it's not clear to me that even with a 50 (versus 60) vote requirement, the president's agenda on voting, guys in women's sports, and other 80/20 issues would actually pass. You see, the Democrats and Republicans—like those at the Cheney funeral—have a lot more in common with each other and really like the status quo.
When Donald Trump won his shock victory in 2016, he found that he had very few friends on Capitol Hill. People like Paul Ryan and John McCain had no interest in passing the president's MAGA program, and it was McCain who made the key vote to torpedo an end to Obamacare. Over two more election cycles, the president definitely gained more friends in the deliberative body, but there is still this uniparty view of the world that does not really like MAGA. One can look at Marjorie Taylor Greene flaming out—but making sure to quit three days after her congressional pension has fully vested. Thomas Massie and Dr. Rand Paul seem enamored with some type of libertarian fantasy world over the direct appeals of the leader of their party, Donald Trump. We always just assume that our representatives will reflexively vote according to party line, and the Democrats generally do so—except for Senator Fetterman, who is a rare breath of fresh air on the Democrats' side. The Republicans are less homogeneous in their voting. Not all are MAGA. Some are Cheney neocons who would love to get directly into the Ukraine battle. Others are Chamber of Commerce admirers who don't like the president or his voters. In the end, there are many Republicans and Democrats who like the present system even if it sits on $38 trillion in debt and is generally dysfunctional. There is a bill to curb congressional insider trading wending its way toward a vote. It will never pass. All of our reps are millionaires, and it does not matter how much or little they had before they went up those stairs and into the Capitol. When they have been in Washington for a few years, their reported wealth is measured in the millions, sometimes in the tens of millions or more. They are not giving up anything for the benefit of the American people.
As both parties meld into one and the president's agenda is left in the Capitol rotunda, there seems to be a strong case for congressional term limits. The old argument about the leaders having so many years of experience is meaningless today. Give a rep six years/three terms and a senator 12 years/two terms. Then they can go out and become lobbyists like their friends. Unfortunately, just as Congress votes itself pay raises and salaries during shutdowns, these people will not vote to end their taxpayer-funded gravy train. Other than the whites in South Africa turning power over to the blacks, nobody gives up a good gig. They are not going to vote for term limits, however beneficial it would be for the Republic. They are also not going to vote for the president's program for voter integrity, however popular it is in the country. Our senators and representatives are not interested in advancing the interests of the nation—and certainly not the program of one Donald J. Trump. They will make a lot of noise but do nothing. They just had 43 days of shutdown. They will be going on their winter vacation soon. They do nothing, and they are very proud of all of the nothing that they do. They hate DOGE because they like the patronage they dole out to friends, families, and NGOs who support them. There is nothing that they can't do with your money.
Oftentimes, when there is some scandal or outrage, one hears a senator or congressman say that tomorrow he is introducing a bill to prevent the event from occurring again. Funny that we never hear about that bill going through committee, getting marked up, being voted on, being sent over to the other branch, and finally landing on the president's desk for signature. No, it was enough to tell the press that we're going to impeach imperial judges or prevent guys with 72 arrests from getting out without bail so as to set women on fire on Chicago subways. And after all of the noise, nothing happens. I once put into Google Maps "golf courses in Washington." There seems to be one for each of our 535 elected reps. In Israel, there is one golf course near the coast.
Rachel Maddow did not take a wrong turn and find herself at the funeral of a man whose views she opposed 180 degrees. Our Left and Right are both connected to the same body, and their only goal is to stymie Donald Trump and the tens of millions of American citizens who support him. Back in the day, an admiral said that the U.S. Navy had three primary enemies: the Soviet Union, the United States Air Force, and Admiral Hyman Rickover. Today, Democrats and Republicans have only two enemies, so it's simpler: Donald Trump and MAGA voters.