You'll never see them on TV again

When last we saw Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, they were explaining why Republicans are to blame for Congressional gridlock. The piece was widely disseminated and well received by all but the usual partisan whiners, which of course made both of these guys persona non grata on the bobblehead circuit.

Almost missed their recent follow up on how to repair Congressional gridlock. Worth reading in full but their best points were a balanced-budget amendment can not fix the economy and possible solutions would be to restore majority rule in the Senate and make voting mandatory. Especially like the proposal to issue small fines for failing to vote and create a lottery for those who do, with the jackpot coming out of the fine pool. As they point out, people are willing to wait hours in lines for big lottery wins, and the odds would be somewhat better for a voters lottery. [via]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]