The Political Spectrum

Peggy Noonan pens a scathing attack on the oh-so-noble 14. And she's right on point.

You've heard the mindless braying and fruitless arguments, but I'm here to tell you the facts, no matter what brickbats and catcalls may come my way. Lindsey Graham defied the biases of his constituency to do what was right, not what was easy. Robert Byrd put aside personal gain to save our Republic. David Pryor ignored the counsels of hate to stand firm for our hopes and dreams. Mike DeWine protected our way of life. These men are uniters, not dividers.

How do I know?

Because they told me. Again and again, and at great length, as they announced The Deal. And I believed them, because I am an idiot. Or as they might put it, your basic "folk" from "back home."

Listening to them I thought of some of the great and hallowed phrases of our Republic. "The rooster who thought he brought the dawn." "The only man who can strut sitting down."

I know they're centrists, but there is nothing moderate about their self-regard. And why should there be? I personally was dazzled by their refusal to bow to the counsels of common sense and proportion, and stirred that they had no fear of justified insult ("blowhard," "puffed up popinjay") as they moved forward in the halls of the United States Senate to bravely proclaim their excellence.

The other day I called the Senate a joke, but it was not due merely to the compromise reached on Monday night. The Senate has long become a place of insufferable blowhards dating back, well, probably to its creation at the outset of the republic. Even such dynamic and eloquent Senators such as Webster, Calhoun, Douglas and Clay, great statesemen that they all were, had a bit of the blowhard quality to them. Only today's Senators are mere blowhards and lack the "great statesman" aspect of their description.

Perhaps I am being a bit too harsh, but is there really any sitting Senator that merits much praise? Oh, there are a few on both sides who are decent fellows, but certainly no one that will be remembered a hundred years from now. Unfortunately most of the Senate is comprised of self-congratulating media whores a la McCain, Kerry, Kennedy, Byrd, Voinivich, Graham, Schumer, and the rest. I mean lets look at Chuck Schumer for a second. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to make Hillary Clinton look like a state's most stately and least annoying Senator, and yet Chuck Schumer has accomplished that by his steadfast refusal to do anything other than whine and complain like a spoiled rotten bratchild for the past five years. He is perhaps American history's least consequential Senator, and he must thank God every day that New York state has turned into such a putrid shithole because he is guaranteed re-election for the rest of his life.

But enough about Chucky. Where were we again? Ah yes, the Senate was indeed designed to be an institution that would temper democratic exuberance, as we've discussed many times before. And it has done that, though not always in the most noble of manners. Publius believed that the Senate would be a semi-aristocratic assembly. Unfortunately American aristoctracy is evidently boring, egotistical, and annoyingly self-righteous. Such is life I guess.

Update: There's no crying in the Senate. Well, not unless you're George Voinivich, and you must hold back tears while speaking on the floor of the Senate.

I know some of my friends say, 'Let it go, George, it's going to work out.' I don't want to take the risk," Voinovich said. "I came back here [to the Senate] and ran for a second term because I'm worried about my kids and my grandchildren. And I just hope my colleagues will take the time ... and do some serious thinking about whether or not we should send John Bolton to the United Nations."

Daniel Webster, he is not.