Broken Crockery

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate gridlocked on the Iraq war in a sharply worded showdown Saturday as Republicans foiled a Democratic bid to repudiate President Bush's deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops.

The 56-34 vote fell four short of the 60 needed to advance a nonbinding measure identical to one the House passed Friday.

I’m a big supporter of minority rights in the Senate, but I’m wondering what ever happened to the old-fashioned ‘Mr. Smith Goes To Washington’ filibuster, where at least the minority was required to experience some discomfort for failing to compromise? Had the framers of the Constitution intended that every action of the Senate require a 60 percent vote, they would have written it that way, and not bothered with the Vice-President as tie-breaker rule.

I despair for our country when I have to spend inordinate amounts of time on the intricacies of Senate procedure just to understand how, exactly, it is that said chamber is incapable of even accomplishing a vote on a bill with only rhetorical effect and yet with majority support.

The 'cooling saucer' of our democracy lies shattered and broken on the floor.