Thursday, February 25, 2010

What the US can learn from the UK

I'm a political junkie. There is no denying this. I spend more time reading political blogs then I spend reading law text books, and my GPA here somewhat reflects this. Luckily, I go to a really good law school and have 0 interest in working for a fancy law firm, so who cares if my GPA is somewhat mediocre, someone posted something new on HuffPo!

Anyway, I was on drudge today and I came across an article from the TimesOnline, aka, a British paper. I LOVE British commentary. It's fun, it's witty, and it's scathing. Yes, Maureen Dowd has earned her nickname, "the Queen of Mean," but that's all. She's mean. Every once in awhile she'll throw in a witty line. Key word being "a." Witty pieces are much more common among the Brits, and I love it. I could read it all day. Anyway, here is one rather well written view of the health care summit.

Also, Prime Minister Question Time. We need to create an American version of this. Let me sum it up, a certain Supreme Court Justice making faces or an over eager Congressmen shouting "you lie" would be considered polite behavior at PMQT. Basically, the Prime Minister has to sit in parliament, justify his/her actions, and be completely abused by the members EVERY WEEK that parliament is in session. In fairness, the PM gets to fire back, enjoy. Good times had by all.
I can't promise that such a plan would promote bipartisanship. Then again, the current system of polite collegiality has failed to produce bipartisanship in recent years. It would be highly entertaining and might even improve c-span's ratings. That would be a win in itself.

Here's a link to a youtube clip of PMQT so you can fully appreciate the cheers, the boos, the cat calls, and the obnoxious/insulting questions. Love it!

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