Iraqi parliament has shown more courage in solving its problems than Illinois legislators

For all of the Iraqi parliament’s flaws, I would trade it straight up for the crowd that we’ve got in Springfield. Ridiculous, you say? Then, consider what both have accomplished. First, the Illinois state government: (This space left intentionally blank.)

That’s right, nothing. Maybe the Iraq parliament hasn’t done much more but think about its challenges compared with Illinois’ crew. Iraq has to repair centuries of tyranny and brutalization. The country is split in three, marked by a centuries-long and sometimes bloody religious feud. With virtually no experience with self-government, the Iraqis are expected to come up instantly with a government and culture that respects democratic values.