The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations

by John McCain

I thought the best way to make some progress on the issue was to allow an organic, bottom-up effort to find a compromise or two or several that would be criticized by many, but acceptable to enough members on both sides in both houses of Congress. The way to do that was to allow legislation to proceed through regular order, the way most things used to be done here before we began trying to operate with minimal or no cooperation from the other side. Blocking amendments from being offered, limiting debate, putting everything we possibly can on the budget reconciliation measure, which requires only a simple majority to pass, and is how George W. Bush got his tax cuts and Barack Obama got Obamacare. Our dysfunction was years in the making, and it won’t be quickly unmade. We’re getting little done for the country, which exacerbates voters’ alienation from Washington, which encourages them to elect more people to Washington determined to stop any compromise, and block genuine progress on anything. Both Democratic and Republican leaders have been instrumental in creating these conditions. Both have tried to control the place more than its customs and human nature tolerate. Gridlock is the result. We hadn’t accomplished much more up to that point than confirming Neil Gorsuch’s nomination. Returning to regular order would give the Senate a chance to work its will on an issue, to use our ideas, our friendships, our initiative to see if we could slowly, inefficiently, frustratingly s...