Choosing Congressional Irrelevance

We have moved into an era where Congress no longer has fealty to its electorate, but instead have fealty to the party leader. When that happens, the checks and balances instituted into government by the founders is cast aside. I have no concerns with tariffs or the closure of a congressionally mandated agency, if it was passed by Congress. Congress no longer wants to do its job and instead is fine with relinquishing its control to an executive order. And this did not just start with Trump, it has been slowly eroding for the last few administrations.

Long past is the time when the Senate could be said to be the world's greatest deliberative body--or perhaps it still is, but the bar is so much lower, the statement is meaningless. I have to think that a lot of Congressmen have forgotten that use of ad hominem (personal) attacks a la Trump proves only that the speaker is unable or unwilling to make a real argument, and that they're allowed to point this out. Can you imagine 535 Congressmen and Senators saying together "Try making a real argument, Mr. President."?

Hence to avoid being called "very stupid" or whatever Trump's epithet of the day is, they're abdicating their roles.

We might joke that the Founders designed our system for the earnest debate of honest men, but now we are stuck with a consensus of imbeciles. Or, perhaps, a consensus of those too intimidated to speak, and those who do--people like Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the like--are those who seem to have no shame at the nonsense they do say.