Times seem to change more rapidly in Washington D.C. Than anywhere else in the world. It would be inappropriate to say that politics is getting more strange – it's as weird as it's ever been. Nevertheless, the developments of the past few weeks were strange enough to cause double-takes so severe, that the resulting air-currents caused whitecaps to appear on the Potomac.

The recent Medicare bill has been taken as a signal of a shift in the traditional roles of the two major parties. Some have suggested that the Democrats and Republicans have switched sides. Certainly, some Republicans have been reluctant to explain how the self-proclaimed party of fiscal responsibility can justify adding new entitlements while cutting taxes and allowing corporations to shift jobs overseas. Some won't even try. (Democrats of course have no problem pointing out the fact that the Republicans have long been fans of the unfunded mandate school of political brinkmanship.)

How funny, to think that such bitter political enemies could suddenly switch sides on us. Ted Kennedy threatening to filibuster a bill which would increase government spending? Has the world gone Topsy-turvey? Well, maybe not.

Considering that we aren't seeing any news stories describing droves of voters switching their registered parties – which would be on CNN incessantly, if it were happening – it's probably safe to say that the parties are still right where they've always been, ideologically. Republicans still want prayer in schools made legal, and certain private sexual practices made illegal. Democrats still want the same hippy crap we all know and love (you know, making sure that people don't starve or freeze to death, just because they decided to be poor). Yes, parties do change, over time; but they do it very slowly.

Regardless of what the commentators say, the Republican drive to increase Medicare spending was not out of character for them. It was a sop to one of their traditional political constituencies. A growing number of baby-boomers are starting to worry about what's going to happen to them when they get old (excuse me, older). What's unusual is that many of them have plenty of money. Rich white people are a core support base for the GOP; and the fact that many of them are old and need medication after years of smoking, drinking, and eating rich foods, while holding down jobs that required no more physical exertion than it takes to lift a pen, means that the Republican party is going to be paying very close attention to making them happy. (Even if it can't actually fund the programs it needs to make itself look good.)

The Democratic response to the Medicare bill was no more extraordinary than the Republican support for it. While many pundits are trying to claim that Democrats are unwilling to do anything that isn't done their way, the fact is that despite all the rhetoric, prescription drug coverage is not exactly the the most important health-care issue facing the nation. Adding expanded coverage to a group who at least can get some medical care is fine . . . but what about all of those Americans who lack any coverage at all?

Given the fact that Democrats and Republicans remain firmly ensconced in the ideologies that have defined them over the past 30 years, and given the fact that this increased entitlement is just another unfunded mandate being used to whip up support in a traditional Republican constituency, and given the fact that Democrats would rather see coverage go to those who have none, rather than more to those who have some, we can safely say that – regardless of all the head-snapping in the press -- nothing has actually changed in Washington. Oh, except for the record breaking deficits not seen since the Reagan administration. Yeah, that's new.

-B. C. Silvia