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big question on Capitol Hill this week is: "What if Congress
were incapacitated by anthrax?" On Monday, the American Enterprise
Institute plans to raise the ante with a seminar called "What
If Congress Were Obliterated?"
In a Roll Call
column, AEI's Norman Ornstein (who will moderate Monday's discussion)
argues that the Constitution isn't prepared to deal with a terrorist
plane flying into the Capitol Building and wiping out hundreds of
lawmakers. Governors might appoint new senators in short order,
but many state laws require long delays before special elections
might be held to fill House vacancies. Ornstein worries about "a
skeleton crew that is highly skewed in regional or partisan composition"
using the opportunity to pass new laws.
It's a smart
column in some ways, but a bit morbid: Sort of like a family dinner
conversation turning to what the kids should do if Mom and Dad die
in a car crash. There are things that might usefully be said, but
dwelling on the topic may cause more worry than it's worth. And
who really thinks that a rogue band of politicians would outlaw
guns or abortion because they saw a small window of opportunity?
As matters
stand, the Constitution's rules about quorum are sufficient —
perhaps not perfect, but surely good enough. Appointing a task force
to study the doomsday scenario, as Ornstein suggests, is also not
the step Congress should take right now after Wednesday's confusing
and demoralizing evacuation.
Anthrax is
nothing to sniff at, but fear is an epidemic, too. We're already
seeing plenty of symptoms.
Daschle vs. Gephardt
Tom Daschle's decision to reverse course on what he apparently told
House leaders Wednesday morning — i.e., the Senate would join
the House in adjourning — must be understood in the context
of Democratic party politics. Today Daschle looks like a fearless
statesman: His office infected by anthrax, but the majority leader
forging ahead with Churchillian resolve. House minority leader Dick
Gephardt, on the other hand, saw himself branded a "wimp"
on the front page of today's New York Post.
Both men a
potential candidates for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination
— and one of them just smeared a pie in the face of the other.
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