Weekly civic intelligence report · v2.2
A child cancer research bill that passed the House unanimously stalled in the Senate, generating outrage among lawmakers. This represents legislative gridlock on bipartisan health initiatives.
Legislative gridlock on a bipartisan bill shows modest separation of powers dysfunction (2/5) and minor rule of law concerns (1/5) regarding legislative process norms. However, this is routine Senate procedure - bills stall frequently for various reasons including holds, scheduling, and procedural objections. The mechanism modifier is reduced (0.7) because this is policy_change without actual constitutional damage, just normal legislative friction. Scope modifier (0.85) reflects federal level but narrow population impact. A-score: 3.74 - well below threshold. B-score is high (26.95) due to extreme outrage_bait (8/10 - sick children narrative), strong media_friendliness (7/10 - simple emotional story), and significant mismatch (7/10 - presents routine legislative procedure as outrageous failure). The 'unanimous House passage' framing amplifies outrage despite Senate procedures being fundamentally different. Low intentionality (4/15) as this appears organic advocacy rather than coordinated distraction. Clear List B: high hype, minimal constitutional damage, D-score of -23.21.
Monitor for actual procedural abuse or constitutional violations in legislative process. Distinguish between routine gridlock (noise/hype) and genuine separation of powers breakdowns. Track if this becomes vehicle for broader institutional attacks.