Do you wonder why we have the problems in Washington that we do? Here is a good example.
When two senators recently got into a spat over whether the Boston Marathon bombings were being politicized, the news was everywhere within minutes. Reams of commentary quickly followed. In the maneuvering over gun-control legislation, every twist and turn was instantly reported and then endlessly debated. As the effects of the federal sequester start to make themselves felt, outlets in every medium — print, television, online — are carrying both the news and the inevitable partisan sniping over its meaning.
You don’t have to drive far in our Senate district to see that our roads are in need of a major overhaul, and I have introduced a bill to get us on the right track.
Americans have forgotten about the Iraq War, which began 10 years ago in March, and the Afghan war, the longest in American history, but the U.S. government is still throwing its weight around in both countries.
Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest leaders of the Cold War, of the 20th century and of British history, has died at the age of 87.
A few weeks ago, the Republican National Committee issued a 100-page report aimed at reviving the GOP after its poor showing in last November’s elections. It was remarkably blunt about the specifics of the party’s shortcomings – its lack of inclusiveness, its hapless data initiatives, its poor grass-roots organizing. What it did not take on, however, was an issue the RNC can do little about: the diminished influence, if not irrelevance, of both major parties in American politics.
Something you don’t see often is articles called “S.C. Senate Cranking Out Bills.” The story was about how the Senate has been much more efficient this year, due in part to our work to get more conservative Republican senators in the Senate as some of the longtime obstructionist Democrats have retired.
Google is a wonderful tool.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at a record high, and the unemployment rate has ticked down to 7.7 percent, but this is no time to celebrate. The economy is still in the doldrums.
The South Carolina state budget – which passed the House and now goes to the Senate – is split into two major pieces: Part 1A and Part 1B. While both parts are excruciatingly boring to read, the first part – 1A – is at least understandable. It at least looks like a budget: Each agency has its own chart of line items showing how much money is allocated to each agency, program, function, etc. That’s why, when members of the news media talk about “the budget,” they’re almost always talking about that portion of the budget they can read – Part 1A.