LAST THURSDAY, in a shameless act of legislative masturbation, Congress voted to create a nationwide do-not-call list, to take effect next week. The wildly popular measure, which will forbid telemarketers to call households on the list, passed by a margin of 95-0 in the Senate and 412-8 in the House. Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who sponsored the bill, suggested afterward that the measure be called "The This Time We Really Mean It Act," referring to an earlier court ruling that blocked the implementation of the program.
As a pointless bit of Congressional self-indulgence, the do-not-call list is matched only by last spring's renaming of french fries and french toast. Given the enormous popularity of the measure, Congress' support of the do-not-call list was not so heroic as Tauzin's remarks would suggest. And given the benign nature of most telemarketing calls, it hardly seems necessary that Congress should, with lightening speed and rock-solid conviction, create a federally administered system for eliminating them.
But the do-not-call list, like "freedom fries" and "freedom toast," provided Congress with an irresistible opportunity to pander to public sentiment, striking out boldly against feeble enemies in a righteous display of legislative indignation. Indeed, such childish bravado has increasingly come to replace actual leadership as Congress has abdicated its constitutional responsibilities in the face of a hostile world and a domineering administration.
In order to comprehend the pathetic state of the American Congress, one need only compare its swift, decisive action against telemarketers with its utter passivity in matters such as the Iraq war and the Bush administration's anti-terrorism initiatives.
Last fall, the administration began calling for the ouster of Saddam Hussein and the establishment of a new, democratic Iraqi regime. The project was one of staggering implications -- having devised a new policy of preemptive warfare, the administration proposed to sacrifice billions of dollars and an unknown number of lives in a bold effort to oust a foreign regime and remake an entire region.
But despite the obvious importance of the war debate and its outcome, Congress uttered scarcely a word. Indeed, there was no national dialogue to speak of, except for the administration's daily calls for regime change. Throughout the yearlong buildup to war, Congress remained mute and ultimately passed a bill authorizing Bush to resolve the conflict as he saw fit, neither declaring war nor expressing opposition to it.
Congress has also offered its meek acquiescence in the administration's domestic anti-terrorism initiatives. The most notorious case of this legislative passivity was that of the USA Patriot Act, which was signed into law on Oct. 26, 2001. The Patriot Act vastly expanded the administration's law enforcement powers at the expense of America's time honored civil liberties, yet its passage was the subject of minimal debate in Congress. Indeed, the 342-page bill, which made revisions to 15 different statutes, passed by a large majority in both houses just weeks after the September 11 attacks.
Worthwhile arguments can be made for and against the administration's anti-terrorism initiatives, but it is alarming that so few of these arguments have been made in Congress. To declare war is the sole prerogative of Congress, but the recent conflict in Iraq was fought at the instance of the administration, without any legislative input. To write legislation is similarly the preserve of Congress, but the Patriot Act was proposed by the Justice Department and passed without any significant debate or revision.
Rather than exercising leadership in a time of national crisis, America's legislators have become a craven mob, tripping over themselves to claim credit for popular, but ultimately meaningless, measures, while failing utterly to address the vital issues of freedom and security in a world plagued by terrorism. In a matter of hours, Congress assembled a large, bipartisan majority in support of the do-not-call list and Tauzin issued his bold warning against judicial interference with the program. But where is this passion on issues of substance?
If Congress is to reclaim its power to write laws, declare war and generally oversee the war on terrorism, it must approach these matters of state with the same vigor it has applied to telemarketers and french fries. Senators and congressmen can be forgiven an occasional moment of popularity-seeking, but they cannot lose sight of their larger responsibilities. America's problems are far greater than a phone call at dinner.
(Alec Solotorovsky is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at asolotorovsky@cavalierdaily.com.)
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