Bust the filibuster

I respect good politicians.

When I pause to consider what holding public office entails — total lack of privacy, constant criticism, high-stakes decisions and a relatively low salary — I find myself in awe.

Ted Cruz is not a good politician.

Nor is any politician who filibusters, for that matter.

The news media was abuzz this week telling and retelling the story of valiant Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who occupied the Senate floor for more than 21 hours Friday in protest of Obamacare.

When he finally finished reading Dr. Seuss, praising White Castle hamburgers, quoting Ashton Kutcher and imitating Darth Vader, the Senate still voted to override his filibuster and send the bill back to the House where, odds are, the Affordable Care Act will receive renewed funding.

This boils down to the frustrating fact that Cruz did not, as conservative organizations like to claim, take a stand for his beliefs and demand that members of Congress heed his warnings in some sort of star-spangled martyrdom.

He wasted everyone’s time.

Washington itself is infamous for wasting time. It’s nothing new that House and Senate members love to grab the floor and run their pretentious self-interested mouths.

Where I take issue is this fiscal year comes to an end at midnight, and our government is on the verge of shutdown because no one can negotiate a compromise on the debt ceiling.

When we consider that Congress has so little time to decide whether the United States government defaults on our loans or raises the debt ceiling, those 21 hours Cruz wasted quoting Duck Dynasty suddenly become much more valuable.

I concede Obamacare is far from perfect, and I sincerely appreciate those public office-holders who spend their time and taxpayers’ money on thoughtful discourse and productive solutions.

That is what keeps our country running.

What shuts us down, however, is the reckless irresponsibility of media stunts like filibusters, and the pageant so artfully executed by Cruz is no exception.

We are currently facing conditions similar to those in the 1990s during the Clinton administration when the government did shut down for 28 days.

The economic repercussions of the shutdown were quickly remedied, but the economy was robust. It absorbed the consequences.

I can’t remember the last time anyone used a positive adjective to describe our current economic climate, and I can’t imagine anything we need less than a government shutdown.

Except, maybe, a self-righteous Texan senator wasting precious hours between now and Tuesday by abandoning national responsibility and trying his hand at stand-up comedy.

If you want to be a comedian, Cruz, go be one. But if you want to be a politician, be a good one.

Bust the filibuster, and get something done.

­— sbkissel@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Sarah Kissel on Twitter @QueSarahSarah.