What caught my eye today was the House of Commons Debate itself. Allow me to contrast British Debating with what we see in our 12 Percentage Point Approval Rated House and Senate...
British House of Commons
The chamber was alive with the members and the debate that was consuming them. They we all paying attention to what was going on. They were quietly murmuring approval when they agreed with what was being said and jeering disapproval when they disagreed. From what I have seen over the years this is the way they always are.
U.S. House & Senate
CSPAN is there. CSPAN lets us see all that is going on. To accomplish this task CSPAN does not have to move the camera. The only thing that is going on is the speaker poking holes in the air with his finger. The few occasions that the camera is turned to show the chamber it shows that the chamber is empty.
Our guys don’t seem to care what is being said in there when it is not them that is saying it. They come in shortly before it is time for them to speak. They leave once they have delivered their pre-prepared words of wisdom.
The most unsettling aspect of what they do while they are representing us up there is what they say as they finish, “I Reserve the Right to Revise and Extend My Remarks”. I sure hope this does not mean that they can change what they did say and insert into the record things that they did not say. Please tell me that’s not what that phrase means.Would I kid u?
Smartfella
