For those of us who like to believe that human beings are rational, trying to explain what happens in politics can be a real challenge.

Members of Congress started out this week conducting symbolic political votes in order to pay back their Democratic base for their support in the past election. The Senate voted and failed to advance the following bills:

WASHINGTON -- At first, the banquet audience at the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference paid Mitch Daniels, Indiana's Republican governor, the conventional compliment of frequently, almost reflexively, interrupting his address with applause.

President Barack Obama's deputy press secretary, Josh Earnest, said over the weekend the following when referencing Congress in 2012: “The president is no longer tied to Washington.”