Nitty Gritty - Homework

Both the New York Times and the Boston Globe have recently published long, detailed examinations of the nitty-gritty process of our government. They are really worth making the time to read.

The Boston Globe is running a three-part article on the way our Congress has essentially been hijacked by a rabid group of radical Republicans. Part 1 and Part 2 are up on the web right now. Here's a taste of part 1:

"There is no legislative process anymore," said Fred Wertheimer, the legendary open-government activist who has been monitoring Congress since 1963. "Bills are decided in advance of going to the floor."

Republicans counter that Democrats, too, used their power to get their way when they were in the majority, and Democrats acknowledge that they sometimes used procedures to their advantage. It was the Democrats, for example, who changed the makeup of the Rules Committee to give disproportionate clout to the majority party.

But longtime Congress-watchers say they have never seen the legislative process so closed to input from minority-party members, the public, and lobbyists whose agenda is unsympathetic to GOP leadership goals.

The Times article is already shaping the political debate. It's a detailed examination of how some aluminum tubes became proof of an Iraqi nuclear program that didn't exist, and helped start a war. It's a horrible tale of inter-departmental rivalry and willing manipulation of truth for political purposes.

Senior administration officials repeatedly failed to fully disclose the contrary views of America's leading nuclear scientists, an examination by The New York Times has found. They sometimes overstated even the most dire intelligence assessments of the tubes, yet minimized or rejected the strong doubts of nuclear experts. They worried privately that the nuclear case was weak, but expressed sober certitude in public.

One result was a largely one-sided presentation to the public that did not convey the depth of evidence and argument against the administration's most tangible proof of a revived nuclear weapons program in Iraq.

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Consider wading through these articles your patriotic duty.