They all act like kindergarten kids. After the Dems bent over and gave the Repubs their eavesdropping bill this week, I have decided to change my registration to the Green party. As a lifelong Democrat, I am finally fed up with the inaction and constant posturing of this party. They are simply ineffective and unable to lead. We gave them a majority to fight for our civil liberties, our respect on the world stage, and to bring back an air of sensibility to Washington. They have failed on all accounts.

I feel hopeless: the Republicans continue on their path of war and destruction regardless of public disapproval, and the Democrats are mired in their own quagmire of ineptitude to respond. Where does one go now?

Why do the Democrats CHEAT agianst the Repulicans in session who were just trying to protect U.S. citizens from having thier hard earned taxes go to the support of illegal aliens at the expense of our own senior citizens and U.S. poor? This artile does not tell the "whole story"! Why not tell the REASON the Republicans did not want to approve the previous day's Journal? It's becuase the Democrats, during a vote on the The Agrculture Bill decided to give more "free benitis" piad for by taxpayer to illegal aliens! This only encourgages more illegals to come here illegally; and the expense of U.S. taxpayers!

Look at how tyrannical the Democrats have become, trying to muzzle the opposition by forbidding debate and shutting down talk radio. Can you say 'Hugo Chavez'?

Here is the difference.

Democrats are polite and follow rules, even if it means defeat. They were polite and quiet during the Republican majority years. Now they're trying to be polite but are being resisted tooth and nail and they don't know how to react. Anger ain't the way.

Republicans want to win, no matter what the cost, including making the entire Congress look like out-of-control teens at spring break. They act outrageously, bully, browbeat and destroy whoever gets in their way.

Enough of this. We actually need these people to govern, not play around with stupid playground tricks.

All of you GROW UP because you're KILLING THE REST OF US.

The system is broken!!! One way to fix it, remove all corporate contributions to politics. END OF STORY! Then these "representatives" will have to represent the people and not their corporate donors.

In response to Mr. Neimon: The Democrats are polite and follow the rules? You have to been kidding. I agree the Republicans have their faults but to say that the Democrats are polite and follow the rules is absurd. I don't know where you have been or what you have been watching the last several months. The Democrats were given a majority and they are failing.

Donchaknow, kindergarten kids behave better than these clowns. But why anyone would figure Cynthia McKinney of GP would be an improvement is beyond beyond even. Dubya was originally placed in office on the premise and promise that he would unite this country. Looks like he is approaching success: we are becoming united in our opposition to dubya! Unfortunately it isn't bringing us together in any other way, and this story is testament to that continuing divide. I thought Obama might be the one, since he seemed to listen to others and accomodate their views whenever possible. Then, I discovered that he just listens long enough to feel the pulse of the electorate and then go with the flow. And, more importantly, if you don't listen to him and do it his way, then he gets all "chesty" and threatens raids and firepower to have his way. But I will keep listening and reading and searching for the people that just might actually be good for the country as a whole. Then we'll have to convince them to run for public office.

Republicans are grasping on to the only straw they have left: Obstructing the Democrats from passing legislation, then saying they are a do-nothing party. They cannot win on issues, they cannot win on honesty, they cannot win on leadership, all they can do is lash out from their electoral corner

No wonder nothing productive gets done in Congress…they're too busy acting like a bunch of school children, arguing over what the day's "journal" entry should say.

Who gives a crap?

Try focusing on an issue that actually matters to the welfare of the American people you bunch of self-important wind bags!!

Seems to me that Democrats and Republicans hang around congress WAY TOO LONG, allowing them to set up territories and then build on that. They are not in the least bit interested in working for America, opting instead for their own "How much can I get?" philosophy. Bottom line is, NOTHING OF CONSEQUENCE IS GETTING DONE. The last 7 years have worked AGAINST America, with every single blow to America's life and liberty being approved against us. For Shame for SHAME! I have seen every way you can slice and dice laws against us, and against the world. We do not deserve ANY FRIENDS, because we turn and viscously tear out the arm of allies who extend their hand in friendship, IE: Russia.

Seems to me, Term limits would certainly help to restore the balance that America needs, with a 4 year term approved, and if you can't perform, you get the boot after that. Performers for America get another 4 year term to play with America's laws, then "BOOT" Out the mother humpin door they went, and we hire new blood. America needs to rid itself of the riff-raff. SIO-NARA! MUCHACHO'S! HEY HAVE YOU SEEN ANY MEXICANS LATELY? CONGRESS IS LETTING 12 MILLION RUN AROUND LIKE CHICKENS WITH THEIR HEADS CUT OFF. EEWWW!

Our government is working as designed. It was designed to by dysfunctional. The voters put the Democrats in power in order to stop the Republicans from spending us all into the poor house. That doesn't mean the Democrats have a mandate to carry out the radical elements of their agenda either. Basically, whenever the government is divided and can't screw up our society with one party or the other's loco ideas we're all better off. The only way anything will get through this congress and past the president is if both parties agree. I like it much better this way rather than having EITHER party alone running things.

This country is in such sad shape by letting spoiled children "lead" it. The others were correct, small children would serve better. May God have mercy on us!

Ken is right, our government is working just as the founding fathers envisioned it, very slowly. Is the political theater we are now seeing new? Absolutely not, it's just that with so many media outlets we are now seeing and hearing more about it and witnessing the silliness for ourselves. The same antics have played out over the centuries, we just never heard about them except in the last 20-30 years. I agree with the other poster that it is best to have a divided government between the parties in the three branches, as it keeps any party from running roughshod over us all.

Uh, and where is "The Uniter" in all of this?? Remember? "I'm not a divider, I'm a uniter."

yeah well he's also a "decider" — remember how he took his time on katrina, read about a goat during the attacks on WTC, passed the buck to the generals on the iraq issue….

This just shows how partisan Washington has become. All of our lawmakers are getting so sick of each other that they're turning the congress into a joke. Neither party has enough of a majority to really get anything done, and so we just get fighting instead.

I don't understand what the problem with their behavior is. I think it's nice for our leaders to shout and get passionate once in a while. The British get it all the time. A bit more yelling could even boost the viewership for C-SPAN. It's about time our democratic process got a bit more reality TV.

Now if only they would open a liquor bar on the house floor and pass out needles and straws…

Clean House in 2008. I'm tired of the complete lack of fortitude, the complete lack of leadership and the complete lack of common sense. I can't stand listening to anyone on either side of the debates anymore; Democrats or Republicans. I think the majority of the GOP is disillusioned and/ or brainless and the majority of the Dem's are spineless.

No more posturing. No more politics. Lets get some people in our government who will actually DO something. What a novel idea.

It's funny that even with a majority in both the House and the Senate, the Democratic Party still has to resort to childish games to pass laws. It's funnier that even with the games their bills still get shot down.

Here are some of the games the DNC has played this year. Bribery (using billions of dollars of taxpayers money) to pass a bad war funding bill which failed in the end, an all night session to debate the Iraq war which failed to change anything, forcing an electronic vote to get around the rules to pass the journal.

This is quite possibly the least amount of decent legislation to come out of a majority in my life.

'Bout time our congress added a little old school parliamentary excitement to their debates…we usually have to watch the Brits on C-SPAN for that kind of entertainment.

You think Clinton could lead this fractous Congress. It will only get worse if she becomes President. We have to get beyond partisan bickering inorder to address the real issues in America. Vote Obama in 08!

I see… Murtha has crowned himself judge, jury, and apparently stenographer of the House. He is permitted to screw up official house votes, arbitrarily cut-off debate with "enough is enough", and then have his comments removed from the record.

But let's all point the fingers at the big bad republicans for objecting to these new Murtha "rules".

Vote every single incumbent out in the next election in both the House and the Senate, and keep doing it every election until we find some normal people to represent us, if any exist in politics.

In response to Brendan Carson, I say please don't change your party registration to Green. As worthy as the Greens are, in this particular presidential election a vote for Green is a default vote for the Republicans.

The Republicans do not care about the expense they put on the people of this nation. They feel they are right even if they know they are wrong. They do not like Democrats and have no interest in working with them. What ever happened to America. It is time to replace the Republican party with at least some high school students. They come off like preschool kids. Democrats hands are tied., but they need to settle down and turn to the people on the Republicans ignorancs.

Republicans are just a bunch of political terrorists, if they can't win they only try to disrupt like a gang of spoiled brat–what a bunch of corruption and crap these Republicans bring to America.

I only wish that it hadn't taken the Democratic Party this long to show some backbone. If they'd put up a fight earlier, we might not be in such a mess right now.

Gee, John, Murtha's rules? Since you have difficulty reading (like your president), it was Steny Hoyer who said "…enough is enough," and I don't think it was Murtha who had the comment removed.

Nice try. Best of luck to your party in 2008 (ha-ha).

Ron ~ CHarlottesville, VA

"Your President" …. and here I thought he was the President of the United States. Or are you so bitter Ron you can't even admit Bush it THE President - yours, mine, the entire country?

If Murtha didn't amend the Hoyer tantrum - who did? Oh - nevermind - I guess it really doesn't matter the House is arbitrarily changing the minutes, right?

There are many good points and comments on this blog. I'm just wondering if the elected officials actually take the time to read them. It would be helpful to everyone if they did, they would probably learn that we are fed up with ALL of them! I agree a change is needed, but the dems don't have enough of a majority to get the job done this term, maybe next term they will. We need to understand that the "do nothing" dems are being put there by the "we must be afraid, very afraid" repubs. As far as following the rules, both parties are to blame. It's just that now the shoe is on the other foot and the dems learned a thing or two from all the years of repubs running the show.

I'm not sure you all have read the story fully. the sqable was over a protest of the Journal, disrupting the business of congress, don't tell me this is something that is routine, and all because they were mad over the Agricultural bill passed earlier. So they try to railroad the process, Murtha does not allow them by requesting an electronic vote. so let me get this right, that action by Murtha represents "dishonor" and "discredit". Petty and slander…
let them shout, that doesn't bother me, calling Mr. Murtha a "dishonor" you need more than a dirty manuever to get a way with it… Good on the Dems…

“Your President” …. and here I thought he was the President of the United States. Or are you so bitter Ron you can’t even admit Bush it THE President - yours, mine, the entire country?

To be fair, Bush seems to only see himself as President of the Republicans of America. He doesn't care much about the other half.

Hehehe…the republicans can not stand the heat when they are the ones being shut down.

The message: be careful what you do to others, it may come back to haunt you.

The republicans are getting a test of their own medicine and how they discounted everything the Democrats tried to do over the last few years.

Mike ~ Hi,

How does the President only represent one-half a country?

- Did tax-relief ONLY go to Republicans? (Considering the wealth in Hollywood I would suggest more left-leaning Americans benefited than conservatives)

- Is the President deploying on democrat soldiers in Iraq?

- Does foreign aid go only to conservative Africans and conservative Palestinians?

If the argument is the President pursues a "conservative" agenda - WHAT President doesn't guide policy and nominations which support their underlying political platform?

John Edwards thinks American isn't doing enough for the "poor". He'll raise taxes to pay for Universal Healthcare, more welfare-based programs, and likely free haircuts for all impoverished. Would HE (if elected) only represent half the country?