Reporter's Notebook: What a 'yacht rock' summer looks like on Capitol Hill

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A summer breeze has swept across Capitol Hill over the past two weeks.

Not the "Summer Breeze" Seals and Crofts sing about, but a political summer breeze which made lawmakers "Run Like the Wind" for the exits.

To quote Gino Vannelli, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle declared "I Just Wanna Stop" – and vacated Washington for the summer.

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One is wise to embrace this miniature respite in governance. The fall and winter will be a challenge in Congress.

So here’s the "Lowdown." One can describe much of what unfolds on Capitol Hill in terms of "yacht rock."

Lawmakers may be counting down the days "Minute By Minute" until they have to return to Capitol Hill in the fall, when election season will be in full swing. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Both bodies of Congress usually adjourn for a four- to six-week period between late July and early September. But this year’s congressional summer breeze has been more like a political gale. Lawmakers barely spent any time in session over the past few months. Both the House and Senate took off a week in the middle of July so Republicans could conduct their convention in Milwaukee. That was after an abbreviated week in Washington just after July 4th. Congress was out of session from late June until after the Fourth. The House ditched town early last month, lopping off one week of its schedule. In fact, the House has only convened for a handful of weeks since May 24.

Yacht rock impresario Rupert Holmes would characterize this as an "Escape."

Do you really need more of a reason to blend a piña colada?

Expect Congress to accomplish much the rest of the year? Well, that yacht – has sailed. We’re deep into the throes of what is going to be a brutal campaign season for the presidency, control of the House and the Senate. All lawmakers are required to do the rest of the year is figure out a way to avoid a government shutdown in late September. Is Congress capable of much else? Well, doubtful. But in the words of the Doobie Brothers, "What a Fool Believes."

A cryptocurrency bill? Maybe in the lame duck session, but doubtful. A tax bill – involving credits for parents? Same. How about legislation offered by GOP vice presidential nominee and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to bolster rail safety after the Norfolk Southern crash in East Palestine, Ohio, early last year? Few are on board with that. Democrats don’t want to award Vance a legislative victory just before the election. And Republicans aren’t willing to help Brown. He faces one of the most competitive Senate contests in the country against GOP challenger Bernie Moreno.

Like the Doobie Brothers and James Taylor, Sen. JD Vance is seen "Takin' It to the Streets" as he delivers remarks during a campaign rally on Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

A farm bill?

Hey. Wrong genre. This is about yacht rock. Talk to John Cougar Mellencamp or Neil Young about that one.

Lawmakers won’t necessarily don their captain hats and recline on the foredeck, catching rays and sipping a mai tai over the next few weeks. Democrats set their GPS for Chicago and their convention in two weeks. There are robust campaigns as Democrats try to cling to control in the Senate and stand a good chance of flipping the House. Democrats are especially enthused about their chances now that President Biden effectively ceded the Democratic nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris. Why did it take so long for Biden to defer to Harris – or anyone else? The Eagles would croon, "I Can’t Tell You Why." But since it's "Just the Two of Us," Democrats were freaked out about bleeding seats down ballot.

"You’re Out to Lose," as Pablo Cruise might sing, had Democrats stuck with the incumbent.

Republicans contend that 14 million voters cast ballots for Biden in the Democratic primaries earlier this year. They could even assert that Raydio was right when they penned, "You Can’t Change That." Biden was "Still the One" for several weeks after the debate debacle in Atlanta in late June. But once Biden stepped aside, Democrats quickly courted voters who may have abandoned them. "Baby Come Back," by Player may have been the Democrats’ theme song as they attempted to woo people who considered sitting things out this fall.

But some pols will welcome the early respite from Capitol Hill. Most House and Senate incumbents lack competitive races this fall. They might not find themselves in "Margaritaville." But who can blame them if they skip out of the 100-degree heat of Washington for a Caribbean destination?

Former President Trump certainly has a contingent of ultra-loyalists who are happy to campaign on his behalf – or at least want to be seen as advocating for him. They may want to score a potential Cabinet post. Or at least duck the ire of the former president, so they attempt to appeal to his good graces. And many Democrats are now supercharged that Biden won’t be on the ballot. They will likely do all they can for Harris. So these lawmakers face a busy August and early September.

But other lawmakers will coast. In fact, they may secretively "Steal Away" – in the words of Robbie Dupree. Perhaps you will find some of these politicians sipping chardonnay or a dry martini on a yacht somewhere as the sun sets across the water. You’d be lucky to catch them. Of course, you can always leave a message on their "Answering Machine."

Not that anyone uses an answering machine anymore.

Both Republicans and Democrats will be wishing they had some of Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" as election campaigns pick up and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris square off for the presidency. (Getty Images)

Yacht rock might not capture all that’s going on in politics right now. One can understand the need to just check out of the political environment this month, especially after the drama involving Biden and the attempted assassination of Trump.

Yacht rock is for summer. But when it comes to elections and governing, that is the season of classic rock.

"There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief," declared both Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in "All Along the Watchtower."

But Congress will be back in due time in early September. Tens of millions of people will cast their ballots. And no one has addressed this as poignantly as The Who.

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"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. We won’t get fooled again," they sang.

It may be enough for you to let loose one of Roger Daltrey’s signature screams.

Which is why the "yacht rock" period of politics is much more pleasant.