[b]“Everyone on the committee thinks he [Koretz] is an ass. He put up four bills this term and they were all idiotic. Three went down in flames so the Democratic caucus had to throw him a bone to keep him voting the right way on other bills. AB50 was the bone. It had nothing to do with facts.”[/b]
This is the most true statement about modern politics I have ever read. For the year that I was an intern at the Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City, I never saw any piece of legislation pass because anyone involved knew the facts of the matter. I was constantly asking the state rep. I interned for "why is he filibustering?" to which she would respond "this is representative so-and-so's bill, and two years ago he blocked the nomination of so-and-so to committe chair of house appropriations, so this is his chance to get revenge." It was always some shit like that and NEVER ONCE about what was right for the state.
I've mellowed out alot since that internship three years ago, but one thing hasn't changed. If the Missouri capitol building caught fire and fell into the river with every politician in the state inside (BOTH parties and the independents too!) I would set up a memorial for the building, and thank divine providence for the deaths.