Anyone for Dodge Ball in the Capital Rotunda??

Hi everyone -

I just had to write this all down before I forget it all or lose the whimsical side of it !

So after thinking about the whole stalemate in the House and Senate with pretty much any and all issues, I had this silly kind of idea.

Do you guys all remember Dodge Ball from school??? Gosh, I miss dodge ball. It was a blast - albeit a bit dangerous at times. You could really lose an eye or worse if you were a guy.

I had this vision. If the boys on the hill are going to act like children, maybe they'd like to be treated more like children. Let's line them up - Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other side. Now sorry, Republicans, you're going to be a little short on people to start - but there are consequences to losing Congressional seats. And besides, you don't quite play fair anyway, so you'll make up for it in spirit and scrapiness.

So let's take a certain Bill or two - like the Health Care Reform Bills. Since, supposedly, they all agree on 80% of these Bills - why not pass just the 80% for now. If they agree on it, put it in writing, pass it through, no questions asked - because they all agree, right? What's so hard about that?

Then the compromising and negotiating can begin. We'll make it like dodge ball where we pick teams and take turns throwing the ball.

First each side would divide out the other points they want in the Bill, two at a time. Start with the easiest ones to negotiate and work their way up to the tough ones. Now, they'd have to go back to some point where the Democrats already started to really compromise. The Democrats really want to include all Americans for coverage, the Pre-Existing Clause, etc. on their side. The Republicans really want better language to exclude Illegal Aliens and Abortions from being covered; they want to sell across State Lines, etc.. So now each side just picks one talking point, everyone gets to discuss it and take it to a vote - compromise. Get enough votes on both sides to pass both their requests - now pass that as an amendment. Sounds pretty darn easy doesn't it???

Then of course, they could work up to the top big two - Tort Reform for the Public Option. Now that would be a real battle. But if either side really wanted their choice to go through, they'd be more apt to try harder to get it.


And overall then, what would be the worse that would happen. If they couldn't agree on anything else, then the 80% would have already been passed.

I feel that this would really take all the horse trading and back room deals off the table. Maybe they could remember that they are working for all Americans, not just their districts and own personal gains.

And I'd sure like to see this posturing on C Span. Maybe we'd see some real testosterone at play - men do like competition and what better way then to indulge their sports-mindedness.

And one more thought - if you act like a 5 year old, you should be expected to be treated like a 5 year old. If you can't play nice together, you shouldn't be allowed to play together. If you have a child and he/she misbehaves, don't you take privileges and/or money/personal property away from that child? I liken this concept to the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and banks - if you screw up and rob vulnerable people out of billions of dollars - you should lose your privilege to continue to do the same until you learn to play nicer. I personally think you deserve a much sterner punishment than just a chastising from the President.

To make this end on even a funnier note, while I was explaining my latest concept to my fiance, Kevin, he just kept telling me he couldn't think any more about my actual concept as it related to legislation - because as a man, he couldn't get the image of all the members of the House and Senate lined up smacking each other in the heads with the Dodge Ball - and he wanted to see it in the Capital Rotunda.

So to each of you - what do you think? Could they pass reform this way? Or do you now just have a bunch of men and women in your mind, in suits and dresses, lined up, winging the balls at each other. I must say, that would be just hilarious and I have a few I'd like to just nail and nail good.