"When you talk about changing the rules, that takes time, and it always involves more than just a committee"
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Rule-changing is the politician's version of saying, "Sure, we can do that", while quietly reminding you that democracy has gears, and they grind. Al Edwards isn't offering a noble civics lesson so much as drawing a boundary around impatience. The sentence is built to cool a room: "takes time" lowers the temperature; "always" slams the door on exceptions. It's a soft reprimand dressed up as realism.
The key move is the demystification of committees. People love to imagine a committee as the whole machine: convene, debate, vote, done. Edwards punctures that fantasy. "More than just a committee" points to the ecosystem that actually writes the rules: staffers drafting language, agencies interpreting it, lobbyists shaping it, leadership counting votes, lawyers hunting for loopholes, constituents applying pressure, courts hovering in the background. In other words, even when the process looks procedural, it's political all the way down.
The subtext is also defensive. Edwards, a legislator known for long service, is likely speaking from the trench reality of statehouse culture: reform talk is easy; reform implementation is where careers and alliances get rearranged. By emphasizing time and scale, he both manages expectations and protects the institution from being cast as lazy or obstructive. It's a line that can justify caution or conceal resistance, depending on who's holding it. Either way, it works because it frames delay not as failure, but as the price of legitimacy.
The key move is the demystification of committees. People love to imagine a committee as the whole machine: convene, debate, vote, done. Edwards punctures that fantasy. "More than just a committee" points to the ecosystem that actually writes the rules: staffers drafting language, agencies interpreting it, lobbyists shaping it, leadership counting votes, lawyers hunting for loopholes, constituents applying pressure, courts hovering in the background. In other words, even when the process looks procedural, it's political all the way down.
The subtext is also defensive. Edwards, a legislator known for long service, is likely speaking from the trench reality of statehouse culture: reform talk is easy; reform implementation is where careers and alliances get rearranged. By emphasizing time and scale, he both manages expectations and protects the institution from being cast as lazy or obstructive. It's a line that can justify caution or conceal resistance, depending on who's holding it. Either way, it works because it frames delay not as failure, but as the price of legitimacy.
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