Noonan suggests politicians have too much work to do

July 13, 2006

I’ve seen some fairly amusing explanations for Congress’ inability to govern, and I’ve heard some people rationalize why so many lawmakers seem so dumb, but leave it to [tag]Peggy Noonan[/tag] to offer a unified theory of politicians’ problems: they just can’t keep up.

I am thinking about the huge and crushing number of issues we force politicians to understand and make decisions on. These are issues of great variety, complexity, and even in some cases, many cases in a way, unknowability.

All of us, as good citizens, feel that we must know something about them, study them, come to conclusions. But there are too many, and they are too complicated, or the information on them is contradictory, or incomplete.

For politicians it is the same but more so. They not only have to try to understand, complicated and demanding questions, they have to vote on them.

For Noonan, we’re in the midst of a “[tag]complexity crisis[/tag]” in which we ask “too much of our politicians.” Lawmakers are expected to make the right decisions on everything from health care to national security, taxes to the environment. They just aren’t smart and wise enough to keep up. Or so the theory goes.

Isn’t this just a lazy cop-out?

Lawmakers aren’t required to have encyclopedic knowledge of everything; the system isn’t even set up that way. There are committees and subcommittees to focus lawmakers on specific policy areas; there are office and committee staffers who help keep members informed; there are policy papers and studies that lawmakers can reference to keep up on the details; and when all else fails, there’s the Internet. (If memory serves, Washintgon also has a massive lobbying industry filled with frriendly faces who are always available to lend a hand.)

I’m afraid there are plenty of reasons DC is a dysfunctional mess, not the least of which is a Republican machine that’s desperate for government power but equally anxious not to use it. For that matter, I’ll concede that a surprising number of lawmakers appear to be completely uninformed about far too much.

But Noonan’s “complexity crisis” is an attempt to justify incompetence. Policy making is difficult — it always has been — but there’s no reason lawmakers should be overwhelmed by their duties. There’s plenty on their plate, but considering the fact that these guys don’t seem to tackle anything of substance anyway, they shouldn’t get lost this easily.

Besides, if they can’t hack it, they should head home.

She’s a republican talking about a government totally controlled by republicans.

So naturally she’s going to take a hard line on the soft bigotry of low expectations.

And I agree with her:

Those poor republican things in Congress don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of solving global warming.

Hell… they don’t even know it exists.

They are hopelessly overmatched.
Unless, of course, you are dimwitted enough to think prayer can solve the problem.

I don’t even know why Colbert bothers to interview these guys… they can’t even keep the 10 commandments stashed in their heads.

  • Isn’t this just a lazy cop-out?

    It can also be read as a justification for why George W. Bush comes across sounding like a dunce so often: it’s not that he’s stupid, but rather that he’s just overcome by the complexity of the problems he has to solve.

  • These congress critters would have a lot easier time if they wouldn’t insist on funding every project as an pork barrell earmark. But no, they know so much better than the bureaucracy about where and how to spend taxpayers money (maybe true after five years of Bushite control).

    Nope, it’s simply that Republican’ts were not raised to be policy wonks, and now that they have convinced America that they should be in charge, they find they can’t handle it.

    Competent people become Democrats 😉

  • Of course there is also the notion that these people are alomost entirely pre-occupied with staying in office at all costs. This requires so much energy, back-slapping, handout-giving, preening, fundraising, posturing, jockeying, and photo-opping even from soon after being sworn in each time. Who has time to worry about “issues” and “progress” and “improving people’s lives”???

  • Actually, I think Noonan is onto something. I watch C-SPAN a lot, and members of Congress seem to have an obnoxious amount on their plates: committee meetings that last hours and sometimes most of the work day; legislation that ranges from trivial to vital (some of these bills are inches thick and come out hours before a vote); debates and floor votes (sometimes the House doesn’t finish business until 10 or 11 o’clock); plus all the accessibility stuff they do (press conferences, interviews, meeting with dignitaries, etc.).

    The problem is that they bring a lot of it on themselves. Like previous commenters have mentioned, Republicans don’t seem very talented at administration. If they would just follow the parliamentary and business procedures that are already in place (instead of skirting them with impunity), that would cut down on a lot of work. Why are people allowed to just toss items into spending bills, which results in huge bills that no one has time to read? Why do Republicans insist on holding committee meetings that last until all their cheerleaders have been allowed to speak extensively–is one Fox News not enough? Why can they not put together a calendar that makes sense, by which things can be done in a timely manner and for which reps have time to prepare? Why don’t the Republicans include the Democrats more so that all of Congress’s labor is not being borne disproportionately by half of Congress?

    They do have too much to do, but that’s because there’s no organization and no vision. Republicans just react to the political moment–and the resulting procedural chaos takes a lot of time to wade through.

  • As for me, I’m glad they’ve put flag-burning and same-sex marriage as the top issues on Capitol Hill. God knows fumes from flags can be dangerous and one of these days when I do get married I just hope it’s not to a box turtle. Congress prioritized their duties in a correct manner. I just hope lawmakers keep going on those fact-finding golfing trips in Scotland and elsewhere and keep playing hard.

  • “For politicians it is the same but more so. They not only have to try to understand, complicated and demanding questions, they have to vote on them.

    well, the only “more so” that having to vote on things adds is a political calculation. pardon me if i don’t have much sympathy for that aspect of it. these men and women get paid good money, have a lot of perks, and take a lot of vacations. to hear someone on their behalf pull a Bush-like “this job’s hard work!” is somewhere between amusing and annoying.

    no one forces them to run. this is their full time job – understanding these big complex issues. they have staffs to help — if they’d pick on competence rather than political or personal payoffs. and they can read the blogs! 🙂 we analyze it all for them!

  • Peggy Noonan has a genuine talent for writing drivel that, at first glance, appears to contain substance, but quickly disappoints.

  • Isn’t this the congress which has been in session less than even the “do nothing congress” of the Truman era? Seems like with all that time off they could at least be preparing a bit more to do a half ass job rather than the completely useless and destructive job they’re doing now.

    These guys aren’t overworked. They’re the Rubber Stamp Congress. They’re told what to do. They do it. And then they leave. How do they break a sweat, (or comprehend one damn thing other than wiping the drool off their collective chins), when all they have to do is stand up and paw the ground once for yes and twice for no.

    Another gaseous emission from Ms. Noonan. And on a Spare the Air Day too. Tsk, Tsk.

  • Congress has gone to a short week. They come in on Tuesday, leave on Thrusday and spend an inordinate amount of time on fundraising.

    Of course, they also have to deal with emergency issues such as stopping the rampant burning of flags the hordes of gays that want to say ‘I do’.

    When is a poor congressman/woman supposed to have time to actually research the issues?

  • Too busy clearing brush.

    It’s like the Doctor complaining that he can’t stand the sight of blood.

  • It’s pretty rich for a Repub to be talking about too much complexity as an excuse. One of the first principles of Hayekianism is that society is always too compllex for the legis.

  • and how many days a year are they in session? what under 100? maybe if they would spend a bit more time actually working…

  • Noonan to GOP-controlled Congress: “Heck of a job!”

    I think Jennifer is on to something though. The way Frist and Hastert have run their respective chambers has fostered an even greater level of incompetence that should be expected.

    But this nation should refuse to buy the “government is incompetent by nature arguement ” that allows bad republican lawmakers and leaders to continue to hold high public office.

  • I was going to disagree with Noonan, but on reflection I have to agree that the majority of Republicans indeed don’t seem smart enough and wise enough to keep up……

    Clinton, Gore, and Kerry are decent examples of politicians who’ve been good at keeping on top of things. Rather than revising expectations, perhaps we should simply stop electing & appointing dolts on the order of Lynn Westmoreland, Lindsey Graham, George Bush, Clarence Thomas, Michael Brown, James Inhofe, Rick Santorum, Randy Cunningham, and on and on and on.

  • Awww, poor babies. They only make $165,200 a year? Well, that plus the kickbacks. Maybe they should take a job more their speed. I see Wal-Mart greeter in their future.

    Maybe they should hire a staff to take some of the load off. 😐

  • This rather lazy argument means one of two things and two things only.

    1) The Repub Congress is so lazy that they’re not doing their jobs. I thought Righties were supposed to be more efficient?

    2) They too damned stupid to actually do their tasks.

    Not a great choice, Peggy.

  • ***Congress has gone to a short week. They come in on Tuesday, leave on Thrusday and spend an inordinate amount of time on fundraising.***
    Comment by NeilS

    You forgot about Wednesday, Niel—that’s their lunchbreak….

  • Republican’t politicians are hardly the best examples of their conservative brotherhood. The best stay in business and make lots of money. The worst are put up for office and are bribed lots of money. Works out of the whole gang.

    Liberals and progressives, who actually see Government service as a noble pursuit, get the best into politics, sometimes.

  • Congress could do a lot to reduce it’s workload by not taking on matters it shouldn’t be dealing with in the first place. Terry Schivo, flag burning, etc.

    On the other hand, Bush could do a lot to reduce Congress’s workload by (1) sending up appointments that have a reasonable chance of bi-partisan support rather than forcing radical choices down the opposition’s throat, (2) sending up budgets that start from a baseline that has some semblence to reality.

    A good portion of their workload is self-inflicted.

  • All this demonstrates is that the “do-nothing Congress” attack is taking hold. Say red is blue. Now it’s in dispute, and can’t take hold as conventional wisdom, but demands a counterpoint any time it’s brought up.

  • While the U.S. is the world’s only super-power, Republicans expect to govern with the approach and funding of a “banana republic.” Is there any wonder that small-government conservatives can’t fill the shoes of and render an effective goverment? Conservativism is an oxymoronic practice in a first-world nation. Hope still lives–it might work in Canada!

  • I am in agreement with those who have said that it is about the competency of those that are running the BushCo. Congressional Subsidiary. Here is a piece of recent history which illustrates this point clearly.

    Does anyone remember the brouhaha during the Burger Court about how the poor old Supremes were overworked? In fact, Warren Burger proposed that Congress establish a new appeals court in order to lighten the load. Here is the opening paragraph form a Linda Greenhouse Week in Review article published by the NYTimes on February 13, 1983.

    Ever since he ascended to the United States Supreme Court 14 years ago, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger has complained about the Court’s workload. In a speech before the American Bar Association last week, he got around to asking the Congress to do something specific about it. Warning that the Supreme Court was nearing ”disaster” from an overload of cases, Chief Justice Burger urged the authorization of a new appellate court set up as a five-year experiment. The new court would resolve conflicting decisions among lower Federal courts, relieving the Justices of a particularly burdensome segment of their caseload.

    As you know that appeals court was never authorized by Congress and the issue disappeared. What happened? He was replaced by William Rehnquist who, in contrast to Burger, was a competent administrator as is pointed out by the WaPo last year upon Rehnquist’s death.

    Rehnquist proved a welcome contrast to his predecessor, Warren Burger, who was viewed by his colleagues as manipulative and pompous. Even Rehnquist’s ideological foes agreed that he ran the court’s internal affairs effectively, and all of his colleagues enjoyed his down-to-earth personality. Rehnquist also served masterfully as the administrative head of the entire federal judicial system. In that role, he was an effective, nonpartisan advocate for greater resources to improve our overworked and underfunded federal courts.

  • It is not that Congress men and women have so much to do, it is that they are on average illeterate, stupid, lazy, and corrupt. Noonan, of course, is part and parcel of the Republican machine of laziness, stupidity, and corruption.

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