Let's Run It Up The Flagpole

Legislation has to be run up the flagpole to see who salutes it before it ever gets out of committee.  In order to get the required number of salutes it very often is cannibalized. The name of the game is you scratch my back and I'll scratch your back. After all, half a loaf is better than none (unless it has been in committee so long that it is moldy, in which case giving the opposition the finger is the better choice).