Why Do I Feel That the Congressional Leaders Are Playing Kabuki Theatre?; Focus - Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Why Do I Feel That the Congressional Leaders Are Playing Kabuki Theatre?; Focus
by Brad DeLong Posted on February 6, 2015 at 9:15 am
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I am left with a lot of questions: If Senator Richard Burr does not see a path to passing an ObamaCare replacement this year, why make a splash with a proposal that is not a bill rather than simply scheduling hearings? If Richard Burr thinks that the Burr-Coburn-Hatch proposal from last year was unfairly rejected by his Republican colleagues and that they should take another look at it, why put Burr-Hatch-Upton forward as if it were brand-new–as if it were not a reboot of last year’s Burr-Coburn-Hatch? And why does Peter Sullivan of The Hill not tell his readers that BHU is a reboot of BCH–if, that is, he has the slightest desire at all to be in the trusted-information-intermediary business? And even if he doesn’t want to be in the trusted-information-intermediary business, why does it please Burr to have The Hill’s readers thinking that this is something that Burr has come up with in the last two months, rather than a line of approach that he has been thinking bout, tweaking, and trying to get right for years?
As far as legislative-process and coalition-assembly is concerned, this looks like Kabuki. More, it looks like Dingbat Kabuki–the motives of the performers seem, to me, to be incomprehensible. And I have worked in the U.S. Treasury. I have not just seen the sausage being made but actually done some sausage-making myself.
