The short answer is everything – but that’s not really true. It sure seems that way and Congress’ approval ratings are managing new lows from their normal below the toilet bowl levels. Basically, everyone knows that Congress is messed up – but we usually just blame the other guy’s congressman and leave it at that.

In reality, Congress has a number of systemic issues. And before we clear the congressmen themselves of the blame, we should note that most of those issues arise directly from Congress’ own power to make its own procedural rules. What started out as a fair minded way to let the legislative branch decide how to conduct its day to day business has resulted in a byzantine labyrinth of rules that make differential calculus look comparatively simple.

None of that is necessary – it’s mostly tradition coupled with some rules lawyering. Sometimes, electing lawyers isn’t such a good idea… Quips aside, both the House and Senate need to clean up their rules – and neither will do it without a TON of public pressure.

The truth is, power hides in boredom. Congressional rules are BOOOOORING – even to weirdoes like me who find governmental systems fascinating. Congressional committees are even worse – if medical science could bottle them we’d have a perfect cure for insomnia. Zzzzzzz…..

Oops, sorry – dozed off a bit there. Kidding aside, the inner workings of Congress makes watching paint dry look like an exciting evening. This is not accidental. The more complexity, the easier it is to hide the stuff that some congressman wants but no sane one would vote for. It’s also easier to hide corruption – let’s not be naïve – but the present discussion is more concerned with how the thing works in general – and how to fix it.

So how do we fix the mess? Write our congressman?

Well, that’s always a good start but first things first – we need to fix Congress’ biggest rule issue so that our congressmen are back on a level playing field. That’s right – not all congressmen are equal. The biggest flaw in Congress – and the biggest threat to the governance by the people – is the congressional seniority system.

It sounds good – the guy that’s worked there the longest should have a few perks, right? Except that those perks are used as political capital – bargaining chips over which policy is decided. Policies that affect US – the people. Some more than others – but what the Congress enacts affects someone, somewhere and more often than not, it affects a lot of people everywhere.

For example, Senator Bob has been in congress since the Capital still had watering troughs for the horses – which means he gets the corner office AND his pick of the very, EVER SO important committee assignments. Now, part of that has to do with which party is in power – if Sen. Bob is a Democrat in a Republican Majority, he’s not getting the corner office. But he will get his choice of committees as a senior member of the minority party.

If Sen. Bob is actually in the majority party, he gets more than just the corner office. Now he gets that chairman’s seat he’s always wanted. From there, he decided the agenda – what the committee will – and will not work on.

See how power hides in boredom? Whether or not your congressman can get a bill important to your district even to the floor to be voted on depends in large part whether or not he’s in good standing with Sen. Bob. Most legislation dies in committee – but it’s a really bad idea to have legislation die just because Sen. Bob doesn’t like Sen. Mark’s tie – or politics, party, the fact that he reported Sen. Bob’s misdeeds to the Ethics Committee…

Most people never realize this stuff occurs at all. And mind you, dealing with the issue of seniority won’t magically fix the power of a committee chair – but it will moderate it.

First off, Alabama and Wisconsin have as much right to representation as Illinois and New York. There’s no good argument for why the state that can elect the same guy – or gal – the most times should win ANYTHING. Recognize long serving congressmen in other, far less destructive ways. Maybe a nicer parking spot to go with the gold watch – but not a bigger slice of the congressional power pie.

Going back to Sen. Bob. Let’s assume he’s in the majority party. And he does have one perk that comes with long tenure – he already knows most of the senators and how the system works. But now, instead of near instantly receiving the chairmanship, Sen. Bob has to convince a majority of the Senate – and he has an edge being in the majority – just to give him the position on the committee. THEN he has to convince the majority of the committee – including his juniors from his own party who are also eyeing that chair.

How likely is he to keep the chair if he plays a lot of heavy handed stunts? He isn’t up for reelection for six years – but the Senate isn’t obligated to keep him on that committee nor is the committee obligated to keep him in that chair. Now when Sen. Mark of Wisconsin wants to introduce a bill to make cheese carving a national sport Sen. Bob isn’t going to be so quick to squash the bill. Because he needs Sen. Mark to at least not oppose him as chair – and hopefully to vote for him should his chairmanship get called into question.

Yes, Dear Reader, Congress runs on quid pro quo. So does every profitable business on the planet – it’s not inherently corrupt or corrupting to have to bargain with others so that you get what you want and they get what they want. Sen. Bob has a lot more to gain by being fair and playing nice with his committee members if they have the power to get rid of him when he doesn’t. And while national cheese carving may never be a thing, there are Federal regulations that do hurt or help the cheese industry – and all the people working in it – in Wisconsin. A little fair bargaining can do a lot of good.

But you can only bargain fairly on a level playing field. A field where congressional power is apportioned like a bad game of marbles and the kid with the most shooters automatically wins is neither level nor fair.

Evil hides in darkness but power hides in boredom. But neither can long hide from an interested public.