George Skelton at the Los Angeles Times:
Legislators are reflective of the people who elect them — not just in ideology but in behavior. That’s the way it was set up and it works — for better or worse. When people communicate through technology rather than in person, inhibitions too often break down and they get testy. Maybe even act like jerks, flinging insults. We see this with email, Twitter and bellicose blogs. But if you’re looking someone in the eye, you tend to smile and mind your manners, perhaps even try some charm and diplomacy. What happened in the California state Senate on the final night of the two-year legislative session Monday was a prime example of machines dispatching decorum and crippling civility.