The Congressional divide

With the speculation on what the Senate would look like should Senator Tim Johnson be unable to serve out the remainder of his term in Congress (good news: it looks like he’s getting better) reaching fever pitch, Alex Kamen at the Washington Post weighs in with this timely piece about the 83rd Congress from 1953 and 1954, a time, Kamen reports, that 9 of the then-96 Senators passed away (including one who committed suicide).

That article also provides some important reminders that really dirty politics is not a new thing in Washington, DC. It may seem so, because of the increased coverage the alleged dirty laundry of politicians in a world with Internet news and 24-7 cable news outlets, but in actuality in some ways the dirty politics of yesteryear are actually worse than they are today. That’s not an excuse for some of the cheap tricks we see, mind you, but all the same, it’s worth noting.