The Degree of Arrogance is Incredible.  In my time, I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit the House and Senate buildings on Capitol Hill and promote various issues to the Senators and Representatives.  After several trips in and around Capitol Hill, I remain in awe of the people and the process that governs our country; it is a truly magnificent model.  However, one comment I have always made to friends upon my return from WDC was that the Senate office buildings are the closest thing we have to royalty in this country.  I stand by that comment today.  It appears the members are being influenced by their surroundings.

The hubris and arrogance that comes from long-tenured Senators is absolutely off the charts.  Not to say that there is any shortage of narcissism in the House; but standing for election every two years does have a somewhat humbling effect on politicians and by necessity, they tend to “till” the home fields a bit more than their counterparts across the square.

I don’t know when it happened, but this ever-accelerating movement towards a “Gang of (pick your number here)” generating legislation as opposed to the regular order of business is really ruining our government.  Since when do repeated terms as a U.S. Senator make you a fount of all knowledge and wise enough to circumvent the rules that have ruled our legislative operations for decades?  Can these people really….really….believe that they know more than the other (100 less the “Gang Number”) Senators in the body?  Does the collective wisdom of the chosen few outweigh the collective wisdom of the elected many?  Is it any wonder that the quality of completed legislation is pathetic; rift with unintended consequences, errors, and plain stupidity?  Can any sane person question the wisdom in orderly committee hearings and the historically deliberate process of passing laws in this country?

As a child, I was always told that the House would brew the tea of legislation in a boil and the Senate would simmer that brew in the saucer.  I suppose the rule now is that any particular Gang of (??? can take over in the kitchen and dictate the drink of the day.  It is a sad day indeed when our most-seasoned members of Congress have fallen to convenient legislative short-cuts that forsake the heavy lifting of thinking, listening, researching, discussing, debating, and taking the temperature of the electorate for the far more chic mode of “Gang” legislation.