Hallelujah: Congress just got sensible

I've often said the political polarization in our country among leading political figures occurs because our society and media rewards political leaders for rhetoric, not reason, for combativeness not cooperation.

Well there are 100 members of Congress, 40 Republicans and 60 Democrats, who I am going to try to reward for their cooperation and their reason.

These members of the House recently sent a letter to the so called deficit reduction "supercommittee" to simply consider all options, including new revenue, in helping to solve the federal deficit problem.

They also, wisely, recommended the budget committee trim the deficit by $4 trillion over 10  years, far  beyond the mandate they have to trim $1.2 trillion.

Here's the story.
Here's the letter.

Of Minnesota's congressional delegation signing the letter were Tim Walz, D, 1st District, Collin Peterson, D, 7th District,

So thumbs up to them.

Not signing including Republicans Chip Cravaack and Erik Paulsen and Michele Bachmann and Democrats Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison.

And thumbs down to them.

Republicans signatories may have taken the larger risk in signing this letter. They face the wrath of not only the tea party, but of political kingpin Grover Norquist, who got several of them to sign his pledge not to raise taxes.

I admire the courage of Republican Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo who has tea party support and was a signer of the no tax pledge in 2008, but not last year.

She would prefer to solve the deficit she said, without raising taxes, but realizes there is more at stake her than ideology and we do not live in an ideal world.

Her quote from national story: "This is not an ideal world." She said the national debt is a problem created by Republicans and Democrats, and both parties must solve it. She said she is not "an absolute `hell no' person when it comes to considering all options.

 "Grover Norquist is not in my district," she said. "I represent the state of Wyoming and its people."


Norquist seemed for one time in his life to be silenced. He didn't return calls to the Associated Press.

Many others signed the letter, many took political risks in doing so.

Reps. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, organized the letter.

Said Shuler: "I'll give up my election. I'll give up my seat" in exchange for an agreement to improve the country's fiscal future, he told the Associated Press.

Shuler gets on my A-list for most courageous political statement of the year.

Democrats signing the letter put entitlement reform and cuts on the line.

Democrat Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., "Those of us who are the strongest supporters of entitlement programs have to be at the table to guarantee sustainability," Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in an interview. "If we stand on the sidelines, those programs will be in enormous jeopardy."

Finally, some Congressional action we can reward. Others would do well to take their lead seriously.