Tired of it

Opinion

February 22, 2010

Old political tricks are fraying the nerves of the electorate

Anonymous The Register-Herald Mon Feb 22, 2010, 10:19 PM EST

We’ve come to expect it.

As politically charged legislation remains stalled in committee, West Virginia’s House of Delegates is readying for a showdown as the minority party, the GOP, plans to again try to employ discharge motions in order to bring sensitive issues to the floor for a vote.

This scenario has played out before and we don’t expect the Republicans to be victorious; they’re simply outgunned.

But this whole mentality is what bothers us; snuffing bills out in the committee rooms just doesn’t seem like the American way.

We say bring them out and make the respective chambers vote. Get them all on the record. That’s why we elect these people; it’s part of the process in holding them accountable.

On the federal level, when Democrats lost a super majority in the U.S. Senate last month, it was being labeled as doomsday for the Obama administration’s health care reform bill because Republicans would be able to stall the process through filibustering.

Often we talk about voter apathy, lack of interest in what lawmakers are doing, and the need to change things for the better.

If legislators don’t want to vote on controversial issues, it simply continues to batter their image in the public’s eye and it contributes to the growing erosion of the electorate’s confidence.

Voting yea or nay is the process we suspect our forefathers envisioned, no matter what political party commands the majority.

Maintaining the position that burying sensitive legislation in committee is the right thing to do is simply regressive and counter-productive.

Voters are becoming more frustrated and are really getting tired of it.

We will see.

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Old political tricks are fraying the nerves of the electorate

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