Senate Expels Hot Air; Kills Global Warming Bill
Senate Republicans stopped yesterday's debate on the global warming bill by insisting that the entire 492-page bill be read aloud. Sadly, the legislation (which is sponsored by Senators Lieberman, Warner and Boxer) had little chance of going anywhere anyways because no-one in the Senate could stop jabbering about who was going to get the most time to pontificate and blather on about the bill:
At one point Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, was
struggling to get his turn. “It’s my understanding that I have 15 minutes at 12:15 which I have been waiting for all morning,” he said.
A short argument followed — involving Mr. Specter, Senator Pete V. Domenici,Republican of New Mexico, Mrs. Boxer and Senator Bob Corker,Republican of Tennessee — over who should speak and for how long. As they bickered, Senator Jon Tester, Democrat of Montana, who was serving as the president pro tempore, made an announcement: “The time of the senator from Tennessee, three and a half minutes, has expired.” Mr. Domenici was perplexed. “How did his time expire?” he asked. “Through this conversation,” Mr. Tester explained.
Yet another example of how well our government works.
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