I'd have a lot more sympathy if they'd voted no.

Now if they were paid minimum wage and had to pay to fill up their car before they drove home...then, maybe then, would I have sympathy for them... but not much.

Yeah those 115 days per year of vacation just aren't quite enough. Fu*k you Congress...In fact, fu*k everyone!

That's so sad, that an evil Republican cared so much about a bill that he would make saintly Democrats work an extra day.

My apathy towards both sides is just palpable at this point.

I donno. Why didn't they call it in on Friday? or on Monday? Was it that vital?

Seems like a Saturday session was a stunt. Washington doesn't break it's own conventions unless there's political benefit. And if there's someone with a -R at the end of his name, pardon me for being a little less then eager to pass it as simple concern for the public good.

This ties in to the recent Washington Post article slamming Congress for failing to get ANY significant appropriations bills passed this session. When a bastion of The Left like the WashPo tells a (D) Congress they're weak and useless, they likely are.

saintstryfe: I donno. Why didn't they call it in on Friday? or on Monday? Was it that vital?

Seems like a Saturday session was a stunt. Washington doesn't break it's own conventions unless there's political benefit. And if there's someone with a -R at the end of his name, pardon me for being a little less then eager to pass it as simple concern for the public good.

De-Program yourself. This is legislative asshattery not Partisan asshattery.

Who cares what little letter is after their damn name. These aren't football teams we are talking about.

8th post!

I'm pissed too. I wish they worked LESS. That way, they'd screw up less things.

Sitting around and voting is NOT work.

unholycode76: Yeah those 115 days per year of vacation just aren't quite enough. Fu*k you Congress...In fact, fu*k everyone!


You do realize that Senators and Congressmembers don't get weekends like you and me. They spend their Saturdays and Sundays meeting with local leaders and citizens trying to make their state a better place.

When you are a Member of Congress, you work 24/7.

Oh, and Subby, at least spell his name right. I mean, you couldn't check it against the article? It was only in there ten times.

So while I was working my summer job in an non-air-conditioned back dock hauling large wooden frames for eight hours, just so I can pay my tuition that's jacked up 8-9% a year, my Congressman had to go to vote on a bill that's a stupid bailout of stupid people?

Sorry, but if the Congressmen spent time during the week on the floor debating and not meeting with high paid lobbyists, they could have gotten a lot of the work done months ago.

unholycode76: Yeah those 115 days per year of vacation just aren't quite enough. Fu*k you Congress...In fact, fu*k everyone!

*sniff* What did I do to you?

Nothing to worry about, guys! The executive and half of the congress is controlled by conservatives. There is no way they will allow this bill to pass, that increases the role of the government and interferes with the course of a free market!

Mordac Lord of Unholy Fury: When you are a Member of Congress, you work 24/7

I dunno about "24/7", but it is true that their work load extends well beyond actual legislative functions. Lost of face-showing to do at home, too, plus the myriad of other things that are decided behind closed doors long before they get to committee. Congresscritters rack up frequent flyer miles rather frequently- it's not unheard of for them to fly back and forth to their home district every week.

That doesn't make me sympathetic, though. It's still a cushy jobs with more perks than you can imagine. Not to mention the power to disburse a third of the GDP as they see fit and tell the rest of us what to do.

Mordac Lord of Unholy Fury: You do realize that Senators and Congressmembers don't get weekends like you and me. They spend their Saturdays and Sundays meeting with local leaders and citizens trying to make their state a better place damn sure they get re-elected.

Let's not kid ourselves here, Mordac.

Crocodile: Sitting around and voting is NOT work.

It's too hard for some snowflakes... (new window)

---

Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January.

The horror.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who will become House majority leader and is writing the schedule for the next Congress, said members should expect longer hours than the brief week they have grown accustomed to.

"I have bad news for you," Hoyer told reporters. "Those trips you had planned in January, forget 'em. We will be working almost every day in January, starting with the 4th."

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Hoyer and other Democratic leaders say they are trying to repair the image of Congress, which was so anemic this year it could not meet a basic duty: to approve spending bills that fund government. By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have worked a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948.

---

"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

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To be fair, there are some that took advantage of those days away from their families...



...to scope out the wideness of the stalls for those flying in for the Republican Convention this year!

Jackpot777
"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

im sorry did i read this correct? he works ONE day ??? if u fly in on Tuesday, and leave on Thursday that leaves Wednesday right ?

trouzourt: Jackpot777
"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

im sorry did i read this correct? he works ONE day ??? if u fly in on Tuesday, and leave on Thursday that leaves Wednesday right ?

Oh no. He probably put in half days on the Monday and Wednesday.

Republicans. All a bunch of big girl's blouses.

Meant to say Tuesday and Thursday. FTFM.