A few weeks back I came across this story from Politico. It’s no secret that you can’t get things done with a divided House and Senate but are they worse than ever? Case in point was this figure:

“Just 18 bills have become law through the first half of 2011, and 15 of those named a building after someone, temporarily extended expiring laws or appointed an official to the board of the Smithsonian Institution.”

For some historical perspective, the last time the houses of Congress were split (not counting the tragic but uniting year of 2001) was the 99th Congress when the GOP ran the Senate and the Tip O’ Neill-led Democrats controlled the House. Not only did they pass significantly more legislation but they also passed, ironically enough, the Tax Reform Act of 1986. And that was in an election year!

Anyway, back to the question at hand – why are politics more political than ever? My general theory is this: due to A) the 24-hour news cycle created by cable TV and B) the Internet, image and perception are more important than ever. The current stalemate is the result of the times. Whether it’s the debt ceiling, health care, or any other issue; both parties must adhere to their party’s ideology nearly 100% of the time due to the risk of being exposed as wanting to work with the other party. Never before have politicians had to be so responsible for every single word for fear of something being picked up on Fox News, MSNBC or the Drudge Report. One could argue that it’s exactly what we, as a nation, need as far as accountability. But at what point does it impede on actual business and our representatives doing what they think is right as opposed to what will keep them in office?

Some might refer to the harmonious good ol’ days of our founding fathers but those days never existed. Even George Washington, the Father of our Country, was guilty of engaging in the political game once the Constitution was established. However, laws were still passed and business was still conducted in the halls of Congress. America was fortunate to have extraordinary men in extraordinary times. Hopefully, we can have both again.