â€œFun,â€ is not a word that your hear in reference to the Senate much, if at all, these days. Our governing body sits a perpetual standstill, with stone faced Senators in drab dark suits occupying both sides of the dividing line. Yes, there’s little joy left in politics these days, which is why we here at ACL propose that it’s time the Senate brings back Seersucker Thursday. Started by Senator Trent Lott in the late nineties, Seersucker Thursday added some much needed levity to D.C., that is until it was discontinued in 2012 because some Senators deemed the event too â€œfrivolous.â€ But, really isn’t that the whole point? Clearly being deadly serious about every minute issue isn’t helping out our deadlocked Senate, so we say it’s high time to return some good humor to Capitol Hill. A bit of sartorial swagger wouldn’t hurt either.

Of course, Seersucker Thursday wasn’t just about being lighthearted for the sake of it, as the event was originally organized as a way to pay homage to the pre-air conditioning era when Senators used to don seersucker suits as a way of combating the Chamber’s ever-climbing temperatures. The â€œholidayâ€ fell in late June and was a way of setting back the clock to a time when Senators not only dressed far more foppish, but they actually got shit done as well.

So, we say don’t worry about frivolity, embrace the seersucker in the Senate this summer, because we all need a reason to actually like Congress.