Editorial: Political disconnect

Friday, June 17, 2005 | 8:44 a.m.

Recent polls have shown that Congress has a dismal public-approval rating, a situation that has its roots in the Republican leadership's political pandering to the religious right in the Terri Schiavo case. An overwhelming majority thought Congress had no right to intervene in a family matter that had been thoroughly reviewed by the courts. While that case was resolved months ago, the fact that the war in Iraq has gone badly and that Congress hasn't dealt with basic issues that affect Americans' daily lives -- such as a shaky economy and an inadequate health care system -- have contributed to Congress' continuing low marks.

One would have thought, then, that Congress would have shown more sense than it did on Wednesday as it demonstrated again that it was tone deaf to the needs of the American people. The Republican-led House, mostly along party lines, rejected legislation that would have prevented the federal prosecution of people who use marijuana for medical reasons in 10 states, including Nevada, where it is legal. Many people who suffer from severe pain can only find relief through marijuana, but a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision said that the federal government can now prosecute those who use medical marijuana, noting that federal law outlawing all uses of the drug trumps state laws that permit it. In the end, the Supreme Court found, this was a matter for Congress, not the courts, to resolve. Meanwhile on Wednesday the House -- again acting largely along party lines -- threw a bone to the religious right. The House approved an amendment to a spending bill that would block a federal judg! e's order that a Ten Commandments monument be removed from a courthouse lawn in Indiana.

The Republican-led House is so out of touch with the everyday lives of Americans that it once again is meddling in an ongoing court matter where it has no business intervening -- shades of Schiavo -- at the same time it refuses to help those people who are genuinely hurting in this country. Such a disconnect is telling of a political leadership that could be in for quite a shock next year on Election Day.