With its five-minute rule and other time-saving parliamentary devices, the House of Representatives is a legislative hare, ordinarily loping far ahead of the tortoise-like Senate and its treasured prerogative of "unlimited debate." But last week, with the finish line near, the tortoise was ahead of the hare.
Hoping to adjourn by the end of this week, the House nonetheless indulged itself in the political pleasures of a week-long debate on a civil-rights bill that had long since been doomed. The House did manage to work constructively for about two minutes: the time it took to deal with a presidential veto....
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
