Senate Approves New Legislation Aimed At
Interrogating Itself
Author: Tom Attea

The Senate, immediately after voting to approve legislation
governing the interrogation and overall treatment of terrorism
suspects, voted on new legislation that would compel it to
interrogate itself about why nearly every member's speechifying
has been directed, not so much at the nation's problems, but at
the November voter.

The body very politic had good cause to approve the
controversial legislation. While a dozen Democrats crossed
party lines to support the legislation regarding the treatment
of terrorists, the members indulged in speeches with
transparently political agendas, such as Senator John Kerry,
who voted for the invasion of Iraq, doing his credible worst
against George Bush, saying "After four years, the price we are
paying is clear for saying to a president and an administration
that we would trust you."

Or Hillary Clinton's disingenuous, "I fear that there are those
who place a strategy for winning elections ahead of a smart
strategy for winning the war on terror."

And from the Republican side, commenting on Democratic
naysayers, Senator John Cornyn of Texas stated, with a not
entirely sly allusion to electoral considerations, "It is a
kind of difficult vote to explain, at least where I come from."


Meanwhile, The House of Representatives showed some inclination
to its own self-interrogation. Reasons abounded. For instance,
immediately after the House voted against the terrorist
legislation, Speaker Dennis Hastert went after the Democrats
who had voted against it like a rabid St. Bernard.

There were also indications from President Bush that the
self-interrogation ought to reach as far as the White House.
Even before the Senate vote, he maintained his usual sense of
what is inarguably the Republican election tactic, noting, "We
must give our professionals the tools necessary to protect the
American people in this war on terror, and those in the House
of Representatives were wrong to vote against this bill."

Self-interrogation, regardless of how pervasive it becomes, is
expected to reveal that lawmakers are so obsessed with the
looming elections that nearly their every word and act are
employed with an eye toward electoral longevity and triumph,
instead of clearly focused on the less compelling topic of what
is right for the country.

Maybe it's a survival instinct. Given the shaky opportunism of
the Democrats and the defensive bluster of the Republicans,
prospects for electoral survival are at a point that would
command a great deal of agonized attention.


About The Author: Tom Attea, humorist and creator of
http://NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway.
Critics have called his writing for the theater "delightfully
funny," "witty," with "great humor" and "good, genuine laughs."