Permanent vacation

In an article today about the desire of House Republicans to replace Tom DeLay as majority leader, the Boston Globe notes:

In addition, (Speaker of the House Dennis) Hastert has scheduled the first House session of 2006 for Jan. 31 -- after a holiday break of more than a month, and two weeks after senators are due to return to Washington. The late start gives DeLay, a Texas Republican, a greater amount of time with which to dispose of the charges, as new leadership elections could not occur until the House is back in session.

This, to me, is simply outrageous. If we lived in a time of peace, security, and general prosperity, the extended vacation time of our elected officials might not be a big deal, though it would still be a slap in the face to most working Americans who are lucky to see two weeks' break per year.

But we don't live in such an era of tranquility. And the amount of vacation days our leaders continue to grant themselves, especially when done for partisan political purposes, is inexcusable. I'm sorry if times are tough, and our representatives might have to sacrifice a little R & R in order to address the problems, largely of their own making, that plague the nation today.

But that's the job for which they were hired in the first place.

During those extra weeks away from the office, untold thousands of Americans will continue to suffer and die as a result of unsolved issues initiated by this Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. And if Mr. Hastert and his ilk don't believe that those issues are worth a little overtime, maybe we should give them all a permanent vacation.