Posts Tagged ‘Senate’
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
I’m still trying to get my head around how anyone can support the Republican Party in the upcoming elections. I know they have a big lead in the polls, and I understand that the party in power usually takes it on the chin when the economy is bad, and this economy is REALLY bad. Still, what has the GOP done to merit our trust? To date, opposed extending health insurance to the almost 50 million Americans without it, opposed the climate bill (Republicans supported cap and trade when it was their idea), opposed toughening offshore oil drilling regulations (even in the wake of the BP disaster), opposed extending unemployment benefits during the worst recession in our lifetime, opposed further stimulus (even though it clearly kept the economy from tanking even further), and the latest outrage, opposed transparency in campaign funding. The only thing the party has come out in favor of is extending the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, even though that giveaway to the rich, enacted while we were fighting two unfunded wars, is largely responsible for the massive deficit the GOP now swears is our biggest problem. This is the same party, if you remember, that told us, when the tax cuts were enacted, that deficits don’t matter.
Somehow, though, they’ve persuaded a majority of Americans that they deserve another shot at wrecking the country. If you like oil in your oceans, melting ice caps and rising seas, larger deficits, greater unemployment, cuts in Social Security, Medicare and little what remains of the safety net, a shrinking middle class, the wealthy grabbing an ever larger share of the pie, and are fine with not knowing who funds political campaigns, then by all means, put these guys back in power. You’ll get what you deserve.
Topics: campaign disclosure act, campaign finance, cartoon, Congress, GOP, opinion, Republicans, Senate, transparency | 6 Comments »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Once again, I’m perplexed by the inability of the Senate to do what has always been routine–extend unemployment benefits during a recession. I’m equally perplexed by the silence from the White House on the issue–Obama should be out there every day demanding that the benefits be extended, and chiding Republicans and recalcitrant Democrats for their inaction, which compounds the cruelty of this deep economic hole we’re in. Americans should be outraged that our politics have become so dysfunctional that the people who’ve lost their jobs are held hostage to satisfy the electoral aspirations of a few.
Topics: cartoon, Congress, economy, jobs, opinion, Senate, unemployment benefits | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
I’ve been accused of blindly blaming the Republican Party for too many things. But this is one even my most conservative friends agree on. Both parties have always agreed to extend unemployment benefits during recessions. It makes economic sense, and it’s the most humane thing government can do when its citizens are economically stressed. First of all, the money goes immediately into circulation–it gets spent, both alleviating the pain of the unemployed, and acting as an economic stimulus to the broader economy. This Republican Party, though, either can’t understand the benefits, or more likely, is quite willing to inflict untold pain on the people of this country if it sees an electoral benefit. The economy will get worse, Obama will be blamed, and the Republicans will reap the gains in November. Never mind the suffering. The cynicism is staggering, and shameful.
Some of the rhetoric is beyond belief. The new talking point is that extending unemployment benefits will only discourage people rom looking for jobs. Oh, we lazy Americans. Fifteen million of us thrown out of work since the recession began, and we just don’t want to go back on the job because of those cushy benefits. Unemployment is our fault. And there are all those high-paying jobs out there just going begging because Obama is too generous with our tax money. Give me a break!
Topics: cartoon, Congress, extension, GOP, jobs, opinion, Republicans, Senate, unemployment benefits | 16 Comments »
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Do the Democrats actually stand for anything? Republicans seem to have no problem sticking to their guns on core issues (as deranged as some of them may be). The latest absurdity for the party in power is the new campaign finance reform bill, which, in order to gain the votes of conservative Democrats in the Senate, carves out an exemption for the NRA. The core of the bill is a demand for transparency; it requires that political candidates and and groups reveal their donors–except for one glaring exception–the National Rifle Association. Apparently, some pro-gun Democrats demanded and got that exemption before they’d vote for the bill, and the leadership of the party is so desperate for a victory they went along. I’m starting to think the Tea Party looks sane in comparison.
Topics: campaign finance reform, cartoon, Democrats, NRA, opinion, Senate | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
The first round of primaries confirms that an anti-incumbent fervor, in part a result of the poor economy and inflamed by Tea Party rhetoric, is gripping the electorate. A word of caution here: turnout at primaries tends to be low, and the results don’t always reflect the broader mood of the voters. Rainy weather may have doomed Arlen Specter as much as a disgruntled electorate. Still, incumbents look to have a rough road come November, even as the economy strengthens. How much Congress changes, and what effect that will have on Obama’s agenda, remains to be seen. Even with the economic downturn, I still can’t quite fathom how the public mood has shifted so dramatically in a little over a year. Have we forgotten which party was in charge when the economy tanked? Is a policy of total obstruction the way forward? Are we really ready to put these guys back in power–or worse–replace them with Tea Party lunatics? I guess we’ll find out in a few months.
Topics: 2010 election, cartoon, Congress, House, incumbents, opinion, Senate, tea party | 16 Comments »
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
There’s a fascinating dual dramatic comedy being played out in the Senate, as the Party of NO tries desperately to halt financial reform on behalf of their Wall Street pals, while in the hearing room next door Goldman Sachs execs demonstrate why we so desperately need the reform. The most amusing (or tragic) exchange occurred when one of the Goldman execs was asked if the bank had a responsibility to act in the best interests of its clients. Long pause. Really long pause. It sounded as though he’d never actually considered the question before. Meanwhile, on the Senate floor, the minority party, led by Mitch McConnell at his Orwellian best, was painting the reform bill as another bailout, and fighting desperately against a consumer protection agency, on the grounds that it would be really bad for consumers if banks were no longer allowed to rip them off. I confess to a grudging admiration for people like McConnell, who can say the things they say without blushing. It’s a valuable quality in a politician, and the Republicans seem to be just a tad better at it than Democrats.
Topics: bank reform, finance reform, Goldman Sachs, Mitch McConnell, opinion, Republicans, Senate | 7 Comments »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
I heard a funny thing this morning. Republicans said that if the Democrats go ahead and pass health care reform by the process known as “reconciliation,” or, to us laymen, a majority vote, it would make bipartisan cooperation more difficult in the future. This from the party that has made partisan obstructionism its only strategy since Obama was elected. What’s especially galling is their claim that major legislation shouldn’t be passed without bipartisan support when they have zero interest in contributing to the process. The GOP alternative to health care reform is the status quo, with minor tweaks that do nothing to solve the major problems. The same goes for financial reform. They’re all for it so long as it doesn’t protect the consumer or include any provisions that prevent the banks from ripping us off again. The genius of the Republican spin machine is that they package their contempt for the public with a populist message. They’ve somehow persuaded the people their policies have hurt the most (remember bank deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy, pork barrel farm and highway bills, the Medicare doughnut hole, massive deficits on their watch–all the things that got us in this mess in the first place?) that they’re on the side of the little guy.
Despite warnings from the right that if Democrats pass health care reform, they’ll be destroyed in November, I’m of the opinion that they’ll be rewarded by the voters for actually doing something, and that goes double for financial reform. Much of the anger at the Democratic party and Obama has to do with their failure to deliver, not with over-reaching, as the right wing choir has preached from day one. If they finally give up the hopeless pursuit of cooperation from the GOP and use their majority to deliver for the American people, much will be forgiven.
Topics: bipartisanship, Congress, Democrats, financial reform, GOP, health care reform, majority vote, opinion, reconciliation, Senate | 12 Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Toyota’s reputation for quality has been severely damaged by the latest problems with their cars. After decades of gridlock and the resulting inability to accomplish anything, the reputation of Congress can hardly be damaged further. At this point, it looks as though the Democrats, who failed utterly to use the power handed to them a year ago, face a humiliating defeat at the polls next November, probably on a scale to match the humiliating defeat the Republicans deservedly were handed last year. Meanwhile, the country’s problems mount, with no end to this absurd merry-go-round in sight.
Topics: Congress, election, House, incumbents, mid-term, opinion, Senate | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
The Democrats were blindsided yesterday in Massachusetts, and they have nobody to blame but themselves. They have badly misjudged the mood of the American people for months, stringing out the health care debate ad infinitum while ignoring the growing anger over the slow pace of the recovery, the loss of jobs, and the obscene unfairness of the Wall Street bonuses. I don’t know what happens to people once they get to Washington, but they seem to lose the ability to understand anything that goes on outside the beltway. Health care reform is a must, but the long dither and the increasing complexity of the bill, not to mention the pork, special favors and lack of cost controls in the current bill have made it unpopular with the public. I don’t know that people actually oppose the bill so much as they have come to view the single-minded attention to it as an unwelcome distraction from more important things–namely easing the economic pain of so many millions.
The irony of the two-party system is that if the electorate has buyer’s remorse, they have only one place to go–back to the party that created so many of the problems to begin with. The Republicans smell blood in the water, but they shouldn’t be complacent, either. So far they’ve offered nothing but total opposition to anything Obama proposes. It’s still a long way to November, and the mood could shift again if they have no program other than more of the same.
Topics: 2010, Democrats, Massachussets, opinion, politics, Scott Brown, Senate, special election | 26 Comments »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
The Republicans are nothing if not united in their opposition to anything the Democrats try. In the case of health care reform, their stance from the beginning has been to kill it at all costs. It’s an outrage that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to accomplish anything when the minority party is unanimously hostile to the majority party. We can argue the merits of this particular health care bill forever, but that’s never really been the point of the opposition. If it were, the Republican party would have been trying to make the bill better rather than scuttle it. They argue that they’ve been shut out of the process, but that’s not even close to the truth. Little they’ve offered has been constructive, and nothing they’ve proposed even comes close to solving the problems our current non-system of health care presents to tens of millions of Americans. As the old saying goes, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Sadly, the GOP has indicated that it will fight granting more Americans access to affordable health care all the way.
Topics: death panel, GOP, health care reform, Obama, Republicans, Senate | 4 Comments »
