. The citizen who dares to turn on C-SPAN 2 to watch our national representative democracy at work is all but certain to be disappointed. John Q. and Jane Q. Public will see committee hearings wherein legislators are bickering with one another or excoriating a witness. The recent snarling matches between Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been particularly salient since the pandemic’s arrival. They also will see individual legislators deliver short speeches to an empty chamber, denouncing some evil, casting laurels on some fine citizen in their home district or state, or boasting of a new bill they are introducing. All too frequently, viewers will see the right, honorable Rep. Pettifog excoriating the president or the other party.
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Democrats and Republicans treat Congress as if it was a parliament, with the majority trying to ram a slate of policies down the throat of the other party as it tries to relentlessly obstruct. This is not good for the country. We are not a parliamentary democracy. As my colleague Mikael Good observes, the Founders designed Congress to be the place where the diverse plurality of America comes together to hash out our differences, and to confront shared problems. For the system to work, Congress must create more space where its members can debate and bargain. Otherwise, the odds are very long that we will find shared policies to address the tough problems confronting our nation.