Huffington Magazine Issue 72 | Page 35

Voices The name and the practice date to the early 19th century. But a combination of technology and federal civil rights laws has produced an unusually large number of “safe” congressional districts, both red and blue. Democrats obtained more high-percentage “minority” districts; Republicans used control of state legislatures to draw more white conservative ones. The situation suited both parties, if not the country. The result: tea party Republicans can issue demands with impunity, and “moderate” Republicans risk a challenge from the right if they’re seen as collaborators. 10. THE END OF ‘REGULAR ORDER’ The old legislative machinery of Congress has been largely destroyed, which means that every major bill is an existential crisis and every crisis a possible meltdown. Budget reforms of the 1970s, meant to smooth the flow of financial decisions, gummed up the works instead. The committee system lies in ruins, robbed of patronage, earmarks, privacy and seniority — that is, the discipline and grease that enabled deal-making. Everything is rolled into one life-or-death struggle. HOWARD FINEMAN HUFFINGTON 10.27.13 The U.S. was the only major industrial country without national heath care, and even though Obamacare relies on the typical American mix of private sector profit and government regulation, it remains a bone in the throat of American politics.” 11. THEY EITHER DON’T KNOW OR HATE EACH OTHER Congress mirrors our socially divided culture. Members have little contact with those in the other party. They are too busy raising money, feeding their favorite media beasts or plotting partisan strategy. The “schmooze factor” can be overrated, but deep personal relationships do help, as MSNBC host and former Hill staffer Chris Matthews documents in his new book, Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked. Today it’s just the opposite: Members of one party campaign against their “colleagues” in the other, even showing up in person in that colleague’s home state or district. Check out the relationship between Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. 12. MISJUDGING OBAMA Much of the “mainstream media”