About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Sneak Preview
Author: BobR    Date: 12/01/2010 03:41:10

It's been a month since the mid-term elections, and as the lame-duck Congress gets underway, we are getting a sneak preview of what we can expect for the next two years. There's been some talk of "bi-partisanship", but it's lip-service to a quaint notion in today's poisoned political atmosphere. Indignant outrage is the new black, and the Republicans (and some Democrats) are doing their best to be fashionable. Morass is on its way.

Before it gets here, though, the Dems are trying to get some stuff done, and there have been a few bright spots. The state of New York has implemented a moratorium on "fracking" (which is a method for extracting natural gas that destroys the water table around it). For those unfamiliar, look into the documentary "Gasland".

There was also an attempt to ban earmarks, a mission driven by Republicans under the false notion that it would reduce spending (see my previous blog on this topic). Although the measure was introduced by Republicans, it was also supported by Democrats (such as Claire McCaskill D-MO). However, it was defeated by both Democrats and Republicans in a bi-partisan show of taking care of their home states and not abdicating all spending power to the Executive branch.

The third bi-partisan effort is the bill passed by the Senate yesterday that puts teeth in the FDA, allowing them to enforce food safety. This is a much needed step back towards regulation and accountability that had been systematically dismantled by the Bush Administration. It was just that atmosphere of lax oversight that led to mining disasters and the Gulf oil spill (not to mention the specific food poisoning events that led to this bill). Glenn Beck hates the bill, so you know it has to be a good thing.

So kudos to those that put partisanship aside to do the right thing for the people.

On the other hand, there's all the other necessary things that aren't getting passed. Republicans couldn't see it in their hearts to extend unemployment benefits, supposedly since they weren't paid for. Yet they are still insisting on extending the Bush tax cuts to the richest Americans, even though those aren't paid for, and haven't been "paid for" since they were enacted.

It also seems like the "morality police" wing of the Republican party is resurgent. DADT is languishing even though the Pentagon is ready to dump it. The Smithsonian museum was pressured to remove exhibits that carried a gay/religious theme. John Boehner's Chief of Staff is taking meetings with Randall Terry (of Operation Rescue fame). I wrote in a previous blog how 78 GOP candidates are opposed to abortion, even in cases of incest, rape, or the mother's life being in danger. Watch this issue bubble to the surface over the next 2 years.

President Obama has tried on more than one occasion to meet with these folks and find some common ground, but he's whistling past the graveyard if he thinks that they are going to meet him halfway (he has a better chance of finding common ground with ex-President Bush). Here is exhibit "A" from the anti-Obama playbook:

http://rawreplaymedia.com/media/2010/1012/barton_patton_slide_101130b.jpg


This was put out by Senator Joe Barton (R-TX). Ol' Joe is the douche that apologized to BP Oil when they were rightly being dragged over the coals for their incompetence in the Gulf, and is currently vying for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This graphic is just a wink and a nudge away from a noose and a white hood (although it has also been interpreted as equating Democrats with Nazis) .

This is what the Democrats (and particularly President Obama) are going to have to deal with the next two years. Bi-partisanship? This isn't even in the same ZIP code. The Democrats better be ready to play hard ball, because this flick looks more like a revenge fantasy than a date movie.

 

26 comments (Latest Comment: 12/01/2010 21:24:30 by livingonli)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati