As we’re thinking about President Obama’s quest for “post-partisanship,” and discussing Congress’ habit of legislating in a messy rush, it’s worth asking: Has Washington always been plagued by feuds over access and transparency?
Here’s one answer: Can you guess the year that this Senate coverage was published in the New York Times?
No conclusion of any kind regarding the tariff bill was reached, although the Republicans said they hoped to be able to report the bill to the full committee on Monday. … [T]he Democrats would not agree to fix a date, saying they wanted a reasonable time to consider the bill, and there would be no undue delay. The Democrats were not shown a copy of the bill, nor did they receive any information regarding its character.
The answer: 1897. So we know that parties have been taking turns ramming bills through for at least 112 years now. It’s almost comforting.
