If I understand it correctly — and on any given topic, there's always a good chance I don't — the problem presently before Congress is caused by a thing called the Hastert Rule. It's named for Dennis Hastert, a Republican who was the Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007. He formalized a practice that had been informally used before him, sometimes by Democrats. Basically, the way it works is that since the majority party can more-or-less control which bills are voted upon, no bill gets the floor for a vote unless a majority of the majority party is for it. This is to prevent bills from passing that would pass if put up to an open vote.
An example. There are 435 members of Congress. To pass, a bill needs 218 votes.
Let's say there's a bill to outlaw the making and selling of cole slaw…and by the way, don't you think it's about time? Or no, better still, let's say there's a bill to outlaw the strangling of puppy dogs. Those are more or less equal in my mind but we'll go with the puppy dogs. Let's further say that there are 234 Republicans in the House and 201 Democrats…which was what we seem to have at the present time.
Let us say that 134 Republicans are in favor of puppy-strangling and 100 are opposed to it. Please understand that these are just hypothetical numbers based on no polling…kind of like the stuff most politicians put in their speeches. In truth, the number of Republicans who support puppy-strangling is probably much, much higher and don't call me and argue the point, Roger. I'm kidding. Let us say all 201 Democrats are opposed to puppy-strangulation and yes, I know that's giving at least a couple of them the benefit of the doubt.
If Congress worked the way I was taught in Fifth Grade, it would be simple: 301 Congressfolks are for the bill. 134 are opposed to it. The bill carries overwhelmingly. That's how Democracy works.
But it doesn't work that way since the Hastert Rule became a way the majority can render the minority impotent. Since the bill does not have the support of the majority of his party, the current Speaker, Mr. Boehner on whose shoulders the dread government shutdown now seems to rest, would not allow the bill to come to a vote.
Does anyone besides me think that's not what the Founding Fathers had in mind? That 134 should prevail over 301?
The numbers are not absolute but it looks like the funding bill that keeps the doors open on the United States of America without crippling Obamacare does have the support of the majority of Congresspeople. It just doesn't have the support of the majority of the majority party.
The Hastert Rule is not going to be abolished for this. It probably will not be abolished ever because whoever's in the majority is not going to want to give it up and the party in the minority can't do it. But it oughta be outlawed. A majority of Democrats and Republicans who agree with one another should trump a majority of whichever party happens to have the most seats at the moment.