One one person voted against war that day, Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin of Montana, the same person who had cast her vote against war in 1917. We are not sure if this is a question that you can provide a definite answer to but we would sure like your opinions. The drafters of the U.S. Constitution purposely built checks and balances into our system, dividing power not only between the three branches, but in Congress even between a House and Senate. In addition, the development of the two-party system has meant our politicial discourse is often polarized into majority and minority positions on certain key issues. The built-in inefficieciencies in our government is part of the price we pay to avoid tyranny.
Government is often at odds with itself, by design.
Throughout the history of Congress its critics have often judged it by the process rather than the results of legislation. It is easy to get impatient with Congress, especially if your favorite bill is not making it through to become law. Before the advent of television and instant communication it was sometimes weeks or months before Congressional action filtered out to the people. Today we can watch it unfold daily on television. This has probably raised our awareness of the process of legislation without raising our awareness of all the forces at work behind the scenes.