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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Congressman Formerly Known as Crazy: Why Alan Grayson is now the most effective member
of the House.
Alan Grayson is running 40 minutes late, but his reason is sound. At 11:30 a.m., the House Science Committee started marking up NASAs funding bill, adding and subtracting whatever they could. At 5 p.m., the committee was still at it. When the members finished a half hour later, the only headline theyd generate would be about the killing of a program to send a robotic mission to a small asteroid by 2016.
Grayson, once again, had walked under the radar. The Democratic congressman from Orlando had convinced the Republican-run committee to adopt five of his amendments. One would bar the federal government from awarding contracts to corporations convicted of fraud, and another would force NASA to consider American public-private partnership human space flight before it partnered with foreign space programs. Each was getting him closer to an unheralded title: The congressman whos passed more amendments than any of his 434 peers.
Weve passed 31 amendments in committee so far, says Grayson. Hardly any Democrats who put in amendments put in any effort to get to 218. They just think they've accomplished something when its ruled in order, and thats the end of the story.
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The new strategy is simple. Grayson and his staff scan the bills that come out of the majority. They scan amendments that passed in previous Congresses but died at some point along the way. They resurrect or mold bills that can appeal to the libertarian streak in the GOP, and Grayson lobbies his colleagues personally. Thats how he attached a ban on funding for unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e. drones, to the homeland security bill. He swears that they dont back away from him because of his old personawell, his relationship with Webster is strained, but he points out that Webster won re-election by 5,000 votes and Grayson won with 70,000. Never mind that. Are the members of Congress more forgiving than members of the press?
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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/07/florida_democrat_alan_grayson_is_the_most_effective_member_of_the_house.html
Little Star
(17,055 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)for anyone in a long time. He's gone from a backbench bombthrower to an overachieving legislative ninja.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Love it.
MADem
(135,425 posts)You don't see anyone in the House stepping up to say a good word about Weiner because all he did was talk. He could point to the right spot on the map, but he didn't want to do the hard work to navigate there.
starroute
(12,977 posts)I know he's not an engineer himself, but he's got that technological mindset. He approaches the business of legislating as a set of problems to be solved and thinks in terms of flowcharts that can get you from here to there.
You can almost see the little yes/no junctures in the description of how he decides what amendments to push. When something gets a "Yes," it goes on to the next test. When it hits a "No," it gets routed through "Is there some way we can tweak this to make it more appealing?" And if it passes the last test, it gets, "Then go for it!"
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)I'm beginning to think that attorneys are the last non-scientific profession that is taught to think objectively, and therefore are able to reach rational positions. They can and are still often wrong, but they go through a logical process to reach a conclusion.
cali
(114,904 posts)this is what Bernie did when he was in the House. He used the Amendment process effectively. It's a good way to approach legislating- particularly when you're in the minority.
Liberal_Dog
(11,075 posts)Hoping that I get the chance to vote for Alan Grayson someday.
winterpark
(168 posts)vote for him last year. But he derailed his own campaign against webster in 2010. Glad he was elected again though. He was my congressman for too short a time.
malthaussen
(17,202 posts)... is sorely needed, for sure. Especially when the things he wants to get done coincide with the things one wants done.
-- Mal
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)take on Republican morons in Congress and simply destroy them. He ENJOYS it.
I would support him for president over almost anyone else if he would run. Of course billions would be spent to prevent him, on smear campaigns etc.
But he is what this country needs right now. A FIGHTER!