Talk, talk, talk . . . or say something
E. J. Dionne makes a great point today in the Washington Post about the potential collision between the rhetoric and labels politicians use to get elected and the hard facts and hard work of actually governing. It’s one thing to talk about government waste, another to figure out what programs to cut. It’s a fair assumption that federal agencies are often inefficient and wasteful (a lot of private corporations are too), but harder to get in and figure out how agencies that deal with the public health, welfare, education, agriculture, food safety and the economy can do their work better.
By looking at what programs work and which ones don’t, the new majority in the House of Representatives can accomplish a lot. It can begin to change the tone in Washington and show the public that congressional hearings are focused on things that really matter. But if the conversation is limited to stereotypes, generalities, and potshots against government, the new Republican majority won’t help change anything for the better (including public opinion about the effectiveness of Congress). And then 2012 could seem like 2010, except, you know, the other way around.
