"Snowmageddon," as President Barack Obama referred to the Atlantic coast's blizzard, hit Washington, D.C. early Friday evening, and the once imminent "Snowmageddon II," officially hit late Tuesday night. Growing up in the "Ohio Snowbelt" south of Cleveland, I find this whole ordeal rather fascinating. Ohio starts preparing for icy and snowy conditions weeks before the first snowfall by spraying the roads with liquid deicer, purchasing thousands of pounds of rock salt, and lining up the crews they will need to work around the clock to clear the snow out in less than 24 hours. I think during the entire time I lived and worked in Ohio, I only remember the government being closed one time.
The federal government in Washington D.C. has now been closed for three and a half days. The Metro system is barely operating. I think I saw a total of two taxis out driving the entire weekend, and the one that we were actually able to flag down notified us that it is D.C. law to charge double fares during "snow emergencies." The city has gone on a complete hiatus. While the 40+ inches of snow that has blanketed the nation's Capital may be wondrous to the eye, it has also brought serious political implications to Capitol Hill.
If it wasn't enough that the Massachusetts election of Scott Brown would assist in the derailing of the Democrats' health care agenda, it now appears that Mother Nature may be playing her role on postponing the Democrats' jobs bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had hoped to pass a jobs bill before Congress leaves for the Presidents Day recess. If this were to happen, Reid would have needed to begin taking procedural steps yesterday and move towards a vote on Friday. However, with Congressmen and Senators stranded throughout the country and unable to fly or drive back into Washington, this seems near impossible.
With "Snowmageddon II" unleashing its arsenal of more snow last night and today, Congressional action may be placed on hold for two full weeks due to the timing of the recess to start this weekend. In the meantime, maybe Cleveland or Boston can lend D.C. a couple of snow plows for "Snowmageddon II" so that the city can once again become operable in a timely fashion.
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