Althouse: "It’s certainly the worst Congress since I’ve been in Congress... We’ve gotten very little done."

March 10, 2014

"It’s certainly the worst Congress since I’ve been in Congress... We’ve gotten very little done."

Said Henry Waxman, the Democrat.

"I tell people, we’re not getting anything done and that’s good," said Tom Coburn, the Republican.

As I like to say — it's my best aphorism — better than nothing is a high standard.

84 comments:

hawkeyedjb said...: Doing nothing is often a good option. Unfortunately it is rarely considered a valid option by the busybodies.; 3/10/14, 10:14 AM
damikesc said...: No joke. Sometimes, nothing is the best possible plan of action.

Hell, Congress wants to get some work done? Repeal laws. Lots of them.; 3/10/14, 10:15 AM
Anonymous said...: They ought to have to repeal at least 3 laws for every 1 new law they pass.

Or perhaps, they should have to repeal 3 pages of what was previously written in order to pass 1 new page of a law.

Congress does more harm than good. Maybe we could mandate that they only meet once a year for a month.; 3/10/14, 10:16 AM
cubanbob said...: If Waxman is complaining then that's a sign that it's a great Congress.; 3/10/14, 10:19 AM
garage mahal said...: Not only do I not want spending on things like infrastructure, I want them dismantled and destroyed. Bridges, railroads, schools, water/sewer systems. Just rip it up! We don't deserve it.; 3/10/14, 10:20 AM
MadisonMan said...: Maybe they've gotten little done, but they've collected a paycheck, so there is that.; 3/10/14, 10:21 AM
SGT Ted said...: When Democrats whine like that, it's a good sign that things are going good.

"Getting things done" by the Democrats has been a disaster for everybody this past 6 years.; 3/10/14, 10:23 AM
SGT Ted said...: Oh please, you moron garage, there is no infrastructure problems that aren't being handled by this Congress.

Oh, some leech may be butt-hurt that his pet pork projects didn't get funded, but so what?; 3/10/14, 10:25 AM
furious_a said...: It would be nice, for starters, if the Democrats controlling the Senate could vote out a budget.

Harry Reid's Senate has managed that, what, once?...since 2008?; 3/10/14, 10:29 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Play nice with Garage Sgt. Ted. There are some things I'd like to see this Congress do with infrastructure projects. For example you could give Harry Reid a shovel, and Nancy Pelosi a pick, and the could take a wheelbarrow and start to work on a road gang. That would be an improvement over what they're doing now.; 3/10/14, 10:30 AM
El Camino Real said...: Congress is not a "Law Factory" and should not be judged by regulatory output.; 3/10/14, 10:30 AM
Roost on the Moon said...: Doing nothing is the best move on the board, when you don't have any problems.

How much must you love the current government to truly embrace the gridlock? A bloated, inefficient government is great for Tom Coburn, whatever problems his constituents may have with it. There is something nearly soviet in the approach of the congressional GOP:

Do nothing, and when something must be done, ensure that it is done badly.

A recipe for rapid decline.; 3/10/14, 10:33 AM
mccullough said...: They are not repealing enough laws. Fortunately Obama is delaying their implementation. That's the next best thing.

As for infrastructure, I remember the $900 billion stimulus act with all the shovel ready projects. That should be enough infrastructure for the next 50 years. Besides, building stuff, even repairing it, is bad for the environment, as all those impact statements proclaim.

Henry Waxman is finally done. After 40 years, he can go back to LA.; 3/10/14, 10:36 AM
David-2 said...: "The politician's syllogism, also known as the politician's logic or the politician's fallacy, is a logical fallacy of the form:

1.We must do something

2.This is something

3.Therefore, we must do this."

Politician's Syllogism" at Wikipedia.; 3/10/14, 10:40 AM
garage mahal said...: "Getting things done" by the Democrats has been a disaster for everybody this past 6 years.

But they aren't getting anything done, thanks to Republicans. Even things Republicans are normally for. Look at the results. Let it burn!; 3/10/14, 10:42 AM
Pettifogger said...: "better than nothing is a high standard"

I love it. That is a view I have long held. Partisan gridlock in Congress is far preferable to doing most things the Democrats would vote for.; 3/10/14, 10:44 AM
gk1 said...: Typical democrat, progress is measured in meddlesome govt. regulations and laws to constrain what people eat, drive and think. What will life be like for this control freak now he is retiring? Maybe he can get a job in North Korea?; 3/10/14, 10:48 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Doing less means fewer opportunities for graft and corruption.
Vote for gridlock. Maybe we can starve 'em out.; 3/10/14, 10:48 AM
MattL said...: The gridlock since 2011 has been awesome. We've (sort of) stopped digging our hole. At least the digging has slowed down.

I fear it's temporary, and not sign of a real turn around, though.

garage: Let it burn!

Possibly the most intelligent thing garage has ever said. Too bad he doesn't mean it.; 3/10/14, 10:51 AM
lemondog said...: Hey Henry elected January 3, 1975, time to go and take everyone elected prior to 2004, with you.

Ten years is more than enough.; 3/10/14, 10:51 AM
MayBee said...: What should be getting done?; 3/10/14, 10:52 AM
cubanbob said...: "Getting things done" by the Democrats has been a disaster for everybody this past 6 years.

But they aren't getting anything done, thanks to Republicans. Even things Republicans are normally for. Look at the results. Let it burn!"

Stimulus. Son of stimulus. Cash for clunkers. ObamaCare. Do tell which of these has been a resounding success?; 3/10/14, 10:53 AM
rehajm said...: Not to worry, Garage, If the polling trends translate to the voting booth in November, the 114th Congress will be more productive.

Though amongst Democrats, gridlock will be back in fashion.; 3/10/14, 10:55 AM
garage mahal said...: I remember the $900 billion stimulus act with all the shovel ready projects. That should be enough infrastructure for the next 50 years.

Thankfully, only 105 billion went to infrastructure projects. Less than a year in Iraq! Where infrastructure and healthcare spending was sorely needed.; 3/10/14, 10:56 AM
who-knew said...: I vote for getting nothing done. Whenever anything gets done, it's generally a disaster: TARP, Obamacare, the latest farm bill. Congress produces an endless parade of bloated, incomprehensible bills that do nothing but piss away taxpayers money and prop up an out of control bureaucracy.; 3/10/14, 10:57 AM
jacksonjay said...: Mr cubanbob said:
Stimulus. Son of stimulus. Cash for clunkers. ObamaCare. Do tell which of these has been a resounding success?

What about the law that was supposed to prevent the big banks from being too big, Dodd-Frank. I understand that it made the big banks bigger!

If only the Republican could have prevented all of this disastrous transformation!; 3/10/14, 11:02 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/10/14, 11:04 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: garage mahal said...

Not only do I not want spending on things like infrastructure, I want them dismantled and destroyed. Bridges, railroads, schools, water/sewer systems. Just rip it up! We don't deserve it.

Liberals like garage have been running my state, California, for a long time now. Their idea of "doing something" is to build a high-speed rail line from nowhere to nowhere while the freeway system declines into potholes and rubble, incidentally lining the pockets of a lot of Democrat cronies. Doing something stinks.; 3/10/14, 11:04 AM
effinayright said...: The advice of millions of Americans to Harry Reid and Nostrilitis Waxman:

"Don't just do something --- STAND THERE!"; 3/10/14, 11:07 AM
mccullough said...: So W and his Congresses wasted $1 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama and his Congresses wasted $1 trillion on non-existent shovel ready projects.

How is Congress not doing anything not a good thing?

Waxman is the fucking moron who wasted time on the Roger Clemens hearing. His idea of doing things is to hold hearings on steroids in baseball.; 3/10/14, 11:10 AM
Brian Brown said...: Thankfully, only 105 billion went to infrastructure projects

The "stimulus" was passed by Democrats and implemented by Obama.

Yet you're here incoherently screeching against Republicans.; 3/10/14, 11:11 AM
mccullough said...: I forgot to add that Obama has continued to waste money and get soldiers killed in Afghanistan. A war he doesn't believe in but has continued because he and some other morons in his party, including Secretary of State Kerry, called it The Good War.

But I'm proud of Kerry. Rumor has it that he asked Obama "How do you ask someone to be last man to die in Afghanistan?"; 3/10/14, 11:17 AM
Drago said...: garage: "Thankfully, only 105 billion went to infrastructure projects."

The dems had complete control of the entire government.

And the dems passed a stimulus bill that they loved loved loved!!

To the tune of over $800 Billion dollars (it was revised up after initial passage).

However, according to garage, the dems only allocated 105 Billion of the $800+ billion to infrastructure in their "infrastructure" bill.

This is what the dems did.

Garage's response?

It's the republicans fault and republicans want to tear up sewer systems.

He's a child.; 3/10/14, 11:18 AM
PB said...: I guess all that spending accomplished nothing...; 3/10/14, 11:23 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Yep keep it up; congress and the president doing nothing except lowering taxed for the rich is what made this country great.; 3/10/14, 11:25 AM
cubanbob said...: I remember the $900 billion stimulus act with all the shovel ready projects. That should be enough infrastructure for the next 50 years.

Thankfully, only 105 billion went to infrastructure projects. Less than a year in Iraq! Where infrastructure and healthcare spending was sorely needed."

So you admit that $800 billion was pissed away. Plus interest. And on what was the money spent on? Useless government drones and parasites.; 3/10/14, 11:29 AM
cubanbob said...: Yep keep it up; congress and the president doing nothing except lowering taxed for the rich is what made this country great.

3/10/14, 11:25 AM"

Really? Who knew that the increase at the top rate was actually a decrease?; 3/10/14, 11:31 AM
garage mahal said...: So you admit that $800 billion was pissed away. Plus interest. And on what was the money spent on? Useless government drones and parasites.

So weird why 128 Republicans were taking credit for projects in their districts. Link.

Ron Paul, Paul Ryan, Cantor, they're all in there. Bizarre!; 3/10/14, 11:36 AM
SteveR said...: One of garage's consistent problems, beyond the obvious lack of factual accuracy and talking point link reliance, is stupid attempts at using humor to make a point.; 3/10/14, 11:46 AM
RecChief said...: MSNBC? Rachel MAddow? there's the definition of truthiness; 3/10/14, 11:46 AM
jacksonjay said...: Yep keep it up; congress and the president doing nothing except lowering taxed for the rich is what made this country great.

These lib arguments are so tiresome!
We all remember that the Democrats refused to repeal the Bush tax cuts! Why? Because most of those tax cuts went to lower income wage earners!

Stop!; 3/10/14, 11:47 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Doing nothing isn't the same as doing good.

The Republicans are idiots.; 3/10/14, 11:47 AM
Drago said...: And like a child garage cannot admit, even to himself, that the dems and dems alone are responsible for how almost 900 billion was allocated and how that money was pissed away.; 3/10/14, 11:47 AM
n.n said...: Idle hands... Bound authority implies greater individual liberty. The liberal cause has been served. The Liberals, however, are mourning its renaissance.; 3/10/14, 11:49 AM
tim maguire said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/10/14, 11:53 AM
Alex said...: In the tech industry you have to be constantly innovative, doing SOMETHING. However, it's just the opposite in government. What a shambles.

We need more innovative government. Maybe Larry Page for President!; 3/10/14, 11:54 AM
Alex said...: Crack - define "doing good".; 3/10/14, 11:54 AM
tim maguire said...: To look at Harry Waxman's history is to realize these last years of nothing have been his finest years in congress.; 3/10/14, 11:54 AM
Tim said...: I am with Heinlein on this one. Require 2/3 vote of both houses to pass a bill, and have a third house that does nothing but repeal laws and regulations, and can do so with 1/3 of the vote.

Be a hell of a lot less laws for damn sure.; 3/10/14, 11:54 AM
Drago said...: Crack: "Doing nothing isn't the same as doing good."

Doing something that the dems and Crack don't agree with isn't the same as doing nothing."

Crack is an idiot.; 3/10/14, 11:55 AM
Fen said...: One of garage's consistent problems, beyond the obvious lack of factual accuracy and talking point link reliance, is stupid attempts at using humor to make a point.

His problem is that's the only club in his bag.

And he's the smartest liberal here. What does that tell us?; 3/10/14, 11:55 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: The Crack Emcee said...

Doing nothing isn't the same as doing good.

That is true. But doing nothing is generally better than doing something actively harmful.; 3/10/14, 11:56 AM
Fen said...: Crack: Doing nothing isn't the same as doing good.

In the language of your racial overlords:

Primum non nocere

"...given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good."; 3/10/14, 11:58 AM
Anonymous said...: I've never really understood the do something disease people get. It almost always seems to work out for the worse, not the better, when Congress decides it needs to do something.

Here is what Congress ought to do.

1) Pass a budget (Which Reid has decided not too do for 5 of the last 6 years).
2) Hold town hall meetings in their districts to hear from their constituents.
3) Repeal Laws that aren't working as intended, like Obamacare.

Most of the country can be handled by local governments. And should be handled by local governments. The more the Federal Government tries to get involved in something it knows little to nothing about, the more harm is does.

This always seems to be the case. And yet, every time it happens, instead of place the blame where it ought to be placed, on government bureaucracy, liberals like to place the blame on the other party. As if, only had there been a cooperative bunch of legislators, things would have worked out so much better.

And even when they have the majority and cooperation isn't needed, it's still the other guys fault (Obamacare).

Some people are not capable of learning.; 3/10/14, 11:58 AM
Drago said...: Fen: "His problem is that's the only club in his bag."

Garage does not have a club.

He doesn't even have a bag.

He skims a few items from MM or whereever, then rushes over and regurgitates them.

You can always tell when you've pushed garage past his first line talking point because the "quality" of his comments zero out.

That's why you get the "tear up the sewers!" comment above.

Garage isn't hiding anything.

That's just all there is.; 3/10/14, 12:01 PM
garage mahal said...: And he's the smartest liberal here. What does that tell us?

You're lucky to have me? I mean, they don't talk about things like how the stimulus was spent on winger blogs do they?

It's "shovel ready projects LOL!" and that's it right?; 3/10/14, 12:02 PM
MattL said...: I mean, they don't talk about things like how the stimulus was spent on winger blogs do they?

Heh...my first thought was of Beavis and Butthead, and intellectual milieu where garage could be at home.

But yeah, we talked a lot about how much of the stimulus was thrown at union cronies. Saved or created!

It's true, of course, that Congress critters will grab whatever is there for the grabbing. But no matter how much you try to distract, the Dems still put that all up for grabs in the first place. Your shouts of tu quoque / hypocrisy are ultimately pretty dumb, even if good trolling.; 3/10/14, 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...: "And he's the smartest liberal here. What does that tell us?"

That liberals, while educated (IE: Having been to a school of higher learning) are actually quite stupid.

I mean, our President was lauded as smart and he's dumber than Sarah Palin.

What's that tell you?; 3/10/14, 12:10 PM
Drago said...: garage: ""shovel ready projects LOL!"

Any guesses on how many times the phrase "shovel ready jobs" was uttered by the dems over a 2 year period to pass and then sell the legislation?

You couldn't count them all garage.

And not just because you'd run out of fingers.

I love how the dems rode "shovel ready" for-freakin'-ever and when it turns out to be precisely the kind of boondoggle bust anyone with a brain could predict (and did), garage and his pals pop up and want you to stop quoting his dem heroes!

It's not fair to use our own words!!; 3/10/14, 12:28 PM
furious_a said...: Oh, boo-hoo, Repubs took/spent stimulus money, too...

Because the right thing to do would be to let Dem congressmen have full claim on the tax dollars extracted from the R districts.

Kinda like Warren Buffett takes every tax break to which he is entitled, despite his advocacy for higher taxes on such as himself...and he's not a hypocrite, either, for doing so.; 3/10/14, 12:33 PM
Sigivald said...: The less Henry Waxman can do, the better.

The man is a hack, and I can't remember ever hearing about anything he's been responsible for in Congress that wasn't a farce or a waste.; 3/10/14, 12:34 PM
jacksonjay said...: Ever seen the show Hoarders?

Reminds me of Dems in Congress! They can't really explain why they can't resist, they just think more is better! If some is good, more is better.; 3/10/14, 12:35 PM
Brian Brown said...: So weird why 128 Republicans were taking credit for projects in their districts. Link.

So shocking, the link is completely dishonest.

Note the example:

While on the House floor criticizing the aid package on Tuesday, Pence pointed to a jobs fair he hosted yesterday in his district as an example of Americans "reaching for a better future." He failed to mention, however, that a number of the employers present at the job fair were recipients of stimulus funding

But hey, in garagie land a job fair where some of the attendees got some sort of "stimulus" means the Congressman bragged about the stimulus.

Don't worry, rank dishonesty is who garagie is and what garagie does.; 3/10/14, 12:35 PM
jacksonjay said...: So weird why 128 Republicans were taking credit for projects in their districts.

If the prodigal son demands his inheritance, should the dutiful son be denied an equal share, because he thinks it's a bad idea?; 3/10/14, 12:40 PM
n.n said...: It's ironic that since Republicans became a majority in the House, it has been, in fact, Democrats, specifically Obama and Reid, who have enforced a gridlock, including the so-called "government shutdown".; 3/10/14, 12:51 PM
garage mahal said...: Note the example:

Fine. What about the other 127 examples?; 3/10/14, 12:54 PM
RecChief said...: The House keeps passing bills, and the Senate won't bring them to the floor. So when a progressive talks about "obstructionist congress" I assume that they are talking about the upper chamber with pride.; 3/10/14, 1:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Comrades, do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!; 3/10/14, 1:14 PM
SteveR said...: Garage, when did you stop beating your wife?; 3/10/14, 1:23 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Alex said...
Crack - define "doing good".

This is the shut down argument all over again. You can't stop the law, so pose as obstructionists - that's bad politics.

If Republicans aren't seen as helping people then what's the point? Saving the country for the rich?

You can't win that way,...; 3/10/14, 1:30 PM
Lnelson said...: I remember from a few short years ago when the big snowstorm created havoc in DC (Al Gore must have been giving a local speech on warming).

To reduce the big traffic snarl, the government announced that only essential personnel should report for work in DC.

Jay Leno later remarked "Isn't that the way it is in the private sector every day"?; 3/10/14, 1:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Keystone XL has been shovel-ready for a good long while now.; 3/10/14, 1:32 PM
Mitch H. said...: You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!

I'm pretty sure that Waxman never actually sat in legislature with Oliver Cromwell, but it was a damn close thing. He certainly was what Cromwell was thinking of, though...; 3/10/14, 1:34 PM
jacksonjay said...: Everybody know that only POTUS Pen and Phone can stop the LAW!; 3/10/14, 1:34 PM
RecChief said...: Why does the Democrat congress keep having closed door meetings?

On March 14th, "Climate Change" activists are meeting with the Obama Administration’s Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services plan to update the nation’s “dietary guidelines"

WTF? Carbon footprint is now going to be part of dietary guidelines?; 3/10/14, 1:37 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: jacksonjay said...
Everybody know that only POTUS Pen and Phone can stop the LAW!

And only Republicans can screw the pooch,...; 3/10/14, 1:41 PM
jacksonjay said...: Dear Mr. Cracked,

Since not a single Republican voted for that pooch called Obamacare, I think it's fair to say that you are full of shit!; 3/10/14, 2:07 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: I support doubling the gasoline tax which would bring in another $50 Billion or so for the roads.

But only if we simultaneously whack $50 Billion out somewhere else - let's say in five equal parts from the Justice, Commerce, Agriculture, Education and HHS Depts. Re the Justice Dept, hell since we no longer enforce our immigration laws and have legalized pot, that should let us lay off a bunch of prosecutors and judges and various paper pushers.; 3/10/14, 2:52 PM
JackWayne said...: Crack is a troll. Why do you continue to feed him?; 3/10/14, 3:07 PM
rehajm said...: WTF? Carbon footprint is now going to be part of dietary guidelines?

PETA has been co-branding with climate alarmists for some time. Apparently it's no longer just SUVs destroying the planet, it's cow flatulence.

Expect a forthcoming new, new food pyramid built on a base of quinoa.; 3/10/14, 3:07 PM
cubanbob said...: The Crack Emcee said...
Doing nothing isn't the same as doing good.

The Republicans are idiots.
3/10/14, 11:47 AM

It's also not the same thing as doing bad.; 3/10/14, 4:15 PM
paminwi said...: The less done the better! Stop making new rules, passing shitty laws, plus whatever else they do.; 3/10/14, 5:49 PM
Titus said...: If they are not doing anything, other than bitching at each other, they should not be paid.

Their jobs should be unpaid-like interns. No benefits either-that would save us some money. And they pay for all their travel and food and hotels. Many of them are rich too so what's the big deal?; 3/10/14, 6:01 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: I'll begin to think well of Congress when:

a) Members of Congress begin to admit that "Yes, we did that Law, and I even voted for it, but we made a mistake, and I was part of it"; and

b) In a two year session Congress repeals more laws than it passes.

Congress, after all, is the agency responsible for our Laws. They are the *curators* of our Laws. That means keeping them current and appropriate.

Congress is not just about passing new laws, it's about creating and maintaining a compact, concise, and simple body of laws.; 3/10/14, 7:26 PM