Warner: Agent of the Status Quo

By Norman

A breathless fundraising email plops into my in-box today from Mark Warner (why am I on his list? Search me). It boldly claims that:

…one Senator used a procedural tactic to single-handedly block nearly three dozen overwhelmingly popular bills - everything from protecting children from sexual predators to investigating unsolved civil rights murders . The bills were bundled together for Senate authorization this week, and even though the legislation did not cost a dime, it was filibustered.

Good Lord! No one is thinking of the children!

Not so fast there, Hot Lips. What Warner’s copywriters are standing on their chairs about is Tom Coburn’s effort to get the Senate to actually debate the bills that come before it rather than rubber stamp them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Warner’s crack copywriting team adds this howler:

This is really Washington at its worst. The politics of “who got what done when” should never stand in the way of making real progress on the serious issues our country faces.

Real progress, eh? Here’s some of what Mark Warner thinks are among the “serious issues” facing our country, condensed by our friends at Reason Magazine:

Is postpartum depression a bad thing? Sure it is. Then let’s pass a law that “aims to eradicate the devastating effects of postpartum depression on American families.” And let’s call it the MOTHERS Act, even though MOTHERS is not, strictly speaking, the correct acronym for Mom’s Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression.

Are flowers nice? Of course they are. So let’s pay for a new greenhouse at the Smithsonian to house its orchid collection.

Are museums edifying? You bet. So let’s sponsor a traveling exhibit commemorating the War of 1812 and “The Star Spangled Banner.” While we’re at it, let’s make a donation to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. Speaking of edification and other countries, why not create a foundation to encourage study abroad?

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Reid’s wish list will cost about $10 billion over five years, at a time when the federal budget deficit has ballooned to a record $490 billion. Yet Reid marvels that “the rogue far right…has perfected the art of stopping good bills that help good people.”

Damn those rogues for putting a hold on our museums and greenhouses.

I, for one, am glad to see Coburn trying to get the Senate to do its job. That’s Washington at its best. If Mark Warner disagrees, and it seems his fundraising shop has painted him into that corner, then he looks more like Harry Reid’s obedient servant than an agent of change.