- The Washington Times - Monday, December 23, 2013

It’s a Festivus miracle: bipartisan agreement in Washington, even if it’s only on Twitter.

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, aired his grievances with the Senate on Monday morning on Twitter. One of his complaints: Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat, didn’t retweet him enough.

“U, me & ’feats of strength:’ Senate floor, name the time,” Mr. Booker tweeted back to Mr. Paul.

Mr. Paul asked if Mr. Booker would be willing to trade progress on mandatory minimum sentencing reform instead of a wrestling match. The New Jersey senator agreed, on the condition that Mr. Paul was willing to work together on reforming federal marijuana laws.

“I am the Senate author of the hemp bill!” Mr. Paul tweeted back.

The airing of grievances is part of the fictional holiday Festivus from “Seinfeld” where families gather to share how they angered and hurt each other over the past year. Mr. Paul’s complaints ranged from increasing debt in the budget deal to recent rule changes in the Senate when Majority Leader Harry Reid enacted the nuclear option to limit Republicans’ ability to filibuster.

“Let’s move on to the Senate. If you want more bipartisan cooperation, talk more not less,” Mr. Paul wrote. “Allow more debate and amendments. Don’t change the rules to run it with an iron fist.”

On a lighter note, Mr. Paul complained about confusing D.C. parking regulations.

“Minor grievance: I can never remember when to move my car for DC street cleaning,” he wrote.

Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated every Dec. 23 from the sitcom “Seinfeld.” In addition to the airing of grievances, the holiday also includes an aluminum Festivus pole in place of a Christmas tree and the Feats of Strength, in which the end of the holiday is marked by head of the house being pinned in a wrestling match, though Mr. Paul will not take on Mr. Reid.

“In response to some of your tweets, there will be no feats of strength, and I have no plans to end Festivus by wrestling with Senator Reid,” he wrote.

• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.

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