What Happens If Congress Gets Blown Up? (with John Fortier)

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The topic of this episode is, “What Happens If Congress Gets Blown Up?” On a sunny Tuesday morning 25 years ago, Congress reconvened. Speaker Dennis Hastert called the House of Representatives to order, and then the Illinois Republican recognized Representative Earl Blumenauer. The bow-tie-wearing Democrat from Oregon then began delivering a speech criticizing the marketing of tobacco. He was the first of three members who were queued up to give speeches that morning. Only a handful of representatives were in the chamber. Most lawmakers were in their personal offices preparing for a full day of votes, hearings, and meetings, which would begin at 10:00 AM. Much the same was happening across…