(Congressman John B. Anderson (R-Ill) that anomaly known as a Progressive Republican - an extinct species today)
The state of Congress in 1975 - Nixon was out and Ford was in. A Republican President and a Democratic controlled House and Senate. And how different was it?
John B. Anderson (R-Ill.): “My criticism would be that too often, instead of trying the path of conciliation and cooperation and compromise, this Congress has elected, simply I think, to play partisan politics and to put itself in a hostile attitude of confrontation.”
Bob Eckhardt (D-Texas): “Actually I think Congress is always, by its very nature, like a large cold machine that’s really rather hard to start. But essentially of course it is a machine that creates policy upon which the government is operated. The Presidency, in the ideal sense is well . . .the ignition system and the starter of that machine. And the President today is not only an executive but he’s a sort of Super-Legislator.”
Not much in retrospect. John B. Anderson (R-Ill), along with fellow Congressman Bob Eckhardt (D-Texas) as heard during NPR's National Town Meeting from December 3, 1975. The subject was "A Critique Of Congress" and, after the initial statements by Anderson and Eckhardt, the questioning came form the audience. The subject matter was strangely similar to those subjects in 2010 - the economy, our dependence on Foreign Oil, partisan politics.
You'd think in 35 years things would change. The answer is a resounding no.
