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Though it is certainly not choice of work wear that is degrading the U.S. Capitol Building these days, decent lawmakers have got to start fighting back somehow. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was absolutely correct to identify an opening with a bipartisan resolution that reverses Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's declaration that senators could wear what they want when voting or speaking in the chamber.
The move from Schumer, D-N.Y., was seen as a means of accommodating Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who prefers to wear shorts and sweatshirts while he's representing the people of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.
Manchin and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, introduced the resolution that "business attire be worn on the floor of the Senate, which for men shall include a coat, tie, and slacks or other long pants," which passed by voice vote with no objections.
Sure, as Fetterman points out, there are much more important things about which the Senate should be concerned. But one of the reasons lawmakers are having such a hard time sorting out the people's business is the absolute unraveling of behavioral standards that were once simply a matter of common sense in the U.S. Capitol.
Fetterman's shorts and sweatshirts are small potatoes compared with the exploits of some in the House of Representatives lately. But Manchin's message is an important one. There are standards one must meet if one chooses to represent constituents and the nation as a whole.
Once he saw which way the wind was blowing, Schumer reversed course and said "Though we've never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward."
It's a small step. But perhaps this resolution will lead to more lawmakers thinking about whether their choices measure up to what constituents have a right to expect from their representatives. We can only hope.