One of the disillusioning facts about Washington is that Congress can vote on something and that vote won’t mean a thing.
It would seem that a congressional vote should be a meaningful occasion, with Members weighing the costs and benefits of voting for the particular measure at hand. Unfortunately, political gamesmanship often leads them to create voting opportunities that have no real impact, but will allow them to tell constituents, “I voted for this” or “I voted against that.”
