Watching Congress at Work
How your elected officials behave in the arena reveals their true character
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No matter how combative our political discourse, we like to imagine the U.S. House and Senate floors as dignified forums, bound by decorum and procedure, and reflecting an immigrant nation’s diversity. If only. “They’re full of these generic, faceless, white, grayhaired men, sprinkled with a few red female power suits,” says Markos Moulitsas, founder of political blog Daily Kos.
As anyone who’s ever spied on the chambers knows, there’s lots of telling activity going on amid the pro forma fulminating. (When congressmen bother to show up, that is.) What the cameras don’t catch—the whispering, chuckling, snack-munching, and even video-game playing—says as much about our lawmakers’ character as their policy positions.