by Paul Jacob

A few weeks ago, former Senate Majority Whip Alan Simpson came to Washington to give a talk about humor. He took the occasion to make some not very funny remarks about how strange politics has become.

He expressed shock -- shock! -- that the current Republican batch had nixed a mental health bill "just because" it had minority party sponsors. Why, back in the old days "[w]e just didn't do that to each other."

These thoughts combine with those of others in a sort of rising chorus. Congress has become uncompromising, so goes the song. Legislators no longer know how to deal with each other. No give and take remains.

OK: Then why do the Republicans find it so hard to accomplish their alleged goals? If the party brooks no opposition, then why does it look so much like what it opposes -- the spend, spend, spendthrift party?

Simpson didn't address how Congress could be both uncompromising and unprincipled. From his planet,the trouble is incivility pure and simple. He blames this on increased costs of getting elected. And so he's starting a new push for taxpayer-funded elections.

Oh, come on. Limit congressional terms instead. Much of the false culture that now suffuses a corrupt GOP would decline as old-timers and failures leave office, and new minds and new thoughts enter.

And there'd be a lot more congressional alumni to tell truly funny stories to the papers.

Common Sense is published by Americans for Limited Government. Their website can be visited at www.limitedgov.org.