See process at work in politics
By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Page Editor
In the newspaper business, it is called "process" or "insider baseball" and no one is supposed to care very much about it.
This is the maneuvering, the technical issues and the parliamentary folderol that goes into the business of governing. The theory is that average taxpayers and voters don't give a hoot about this; what they want to know about are results and how government impacts them.
Well, of course. Government isn't about itself; it is about doing things for (and sometimes to) people. So results should always be foremost.
But the process side is important as well. And taxpayers and voters received an important lesson on that importance recently, both at home in Hawai'i and in Washington.
In Hawai'i, the voters discovered the crucial importance of numbers at the Legislature. It is said that the key quality for effectiveness in any legislative leader is "the ability to count." That is, knowing how to find and nail down 26 votes in the 51-member House or 13 in the 25-member Senate is what matters most.
If you have the numbers, anything is possible. If you don't, watch out. State House Democrats discovered this last session when the Republicans grew to 19 — not enough to control the House, but plenty enough to put a parliamentary monkey wrench in the majority's plans.
What you saw, after a rough shake-out period, was far more majority attention to the needs of the GOP minority than had long been the case.
In Washington, the lesson came courtesy of the spectacular defection of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords from the Republicans. The defection ousts the Republicans from control and gives the Democrats a 50-49 edge. That one vote, that single number, means everything in terms of Senate organization and process.
Now, the Democrats will set the agenda and head the committees. Hawai'i Sens. Dan Akaka and Dan Inouye suddenly convert from ranking minority members on several panels to chair, with a sufficient number of Democratic votes to make decisions and move (or kill) legislation.
This transformation will have less dramatic effect than it would have had in the House, because Senate rules and tradition impose more collaboration and power-sharing. It will still take a combination of Republican and Democratic votes, for instance, to shut off a filibuster.
And the gentleman's club tradition of the Senate helps ensure that no one wields numerical power too harshly. Inouye, for instance, has long shared power and responsibility with his Republican counterpart Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Still, politics is ultimately a game of numbers. As Inouye remarked when the Republicans had numerical superiority courtesy of the tie-breaking vote of the vice president, someone ultimately is in charge, someone is ultimately responsible.
In the U.S. Senate, it's the Democrats. That will impact everything from the fate of federal appointees to the Judiciary and other important posts to prospects for legislation such as the Native Hawaiian "recognition" bill.
In short, process does matter. Big time.
