Last night was the tour of the US Capitol. And a huge thundestorm. Okay. for the wierd coincidence. The tour guide, Steve, graduated from Harry Street Elementary and Hamilton Middle School and Wellington (KS) High School. He has lived most of his adult life in DC and Atlanta but we had a nice chat.
We were the only ones in the Capitol last night-wait, scratch that. The House was in session. But we were the only visitors. Steve and a former House member were our hosts and we did the normal tour on steriods since we were the only ones in each of the rooms we went into. Normally there are hundreds of people, cameras and voices competing for your attention.
The last portion of the evening was spent in the gallery of the House of Representatives, listening to speeches given in support or defense of 'Obamacare'. The full House wasn't in attendance and the host explained that it may seem like a waste of time but it serves an inportant purpose. The leadership is there and, even though the vote is a foregone conclusion, the speeches allow the listener, via CSPAN, to know their point of view is being heard. That's why you'll hear alot of personal anecdotes from the floor.
The highpoint of our short time in the chamber was listening to Rep. Michelle Bachmann. I won't tell you what her position on the Affordable Care Act is but she used the word 'socialist'. I hate it when pols use it because I'm not sure they really know what it means and they use it to frighten people who don't know what it means but ... Watching the legislative process is always facinating.
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