Begins....say hello to partisan gridlock, obstruction, investigations,
the demonization of Unions, legislation to harm the poor and working
class, efforts to make the President fail, and un-American bad
behavior for the next two years!
Most of the Republicans in both the House and the Senate voted against
DADT repeal. I predict that they will now obstruct any further
Progressive and pro-LGBT legislation for as long as they hold control
of the House. We need to demonstrate and protest loudly.
A polarized Congress in a US seeking pragmatism
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Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. hands the gavel to the
new House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio during the first session of the
112th Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, on Capitol Hill in
Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP)
House Speaker-desigante John Boehner of Ohio greets House members
during the first session of the 112th Congress, on Capitol Hill in
Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
(Charles Dharapak - AP)
President Barack Obama pauses on the tarmac as he arrives at Andrews
Air Force Base, Md.,, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, as he returned from
vacation in Hawaii. Col. Lee DePlao, commander of the 11th Wing, is
second from left. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)
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By LIZ SIDOTI
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 5, 2011; 2:32 PM
WASHINGTON -- There's an inherent conflict in the country's new
political reality: a much more polarized Congress must answer to an
increasingly powerful center of the electorate that abhors
partisanship or risk its wrath in 2012.
Much like President Bill Clinton after his party's disastrous 1994
elections, President Barack Obama now has the chance to shift to the
middle as leaders on Capitol Hill struggle to strike a balance between
the desires of ideological purists in their ranks and the independent,
centrist voters who played a significant role in electing them.
For Republicans and Democrats, that task began Wednesday when the new
Congress was sworn in; Republicans assumed control of the House and
padded their numbers in the Democratic-led Senate.
"There's going to be politics. That's what happens in Washington. They
are going to play to their base for a certain period of time. But I'm
pretty confident that they're going to recognize that our job is to
govern . My hope is that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will realize
that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012," Obama
said this week about GOP leaders in the House and Senate, casting
himself as the compromiser in chief even while maneuvering for his
upcoming re-election.
The president's tone was in stark contrast to his first two years when
he leveraged large Democratic majorities in Congress - and thwarted
Republicans - to enact sweeping laws, including an economic stimulus
measure and revamps of the health care and financial regulatory
systems, that independents greeted skeptically if not derisively.
After backing him heavily in his presidential bid, they punished him
in November by ending one-party rule in Washington.
Now, with no serious Democratic primary challenger emerging to siphon
support from his liberal base, Obama already has begun moving to the
center. As 2010 ended, he compromised with Republicans to reach
bipartisan deals on tax cuts that paved the way for a rush of end of
year legislation, including repealing the ban on gays openly serving
in the military as well as a new nuclear treaty with Russia.
It's clear the 2012 elections are in everyone's sights with obvious
objectives: Obama needs to win back middle-of-the-road voters, and
Republicans need to keep them happy, or at least not anger them.
Their power was strongly felt in the last three elections. In 2006 and
2008, independents furious with Republican governance gave Democrats
power in Congress and the White House. By 2010, these voters had grown
disillusioned by Democratic rule and sided with the GOP.
And their sway is only growing.
Today, more Americans are identifying themselves as independent while
majorities of the country view both the Democratic and Republican
parties unfavorably. Disaffected Republican and Democratic operatives
are forming groups to advocate on behalf of - if not organize -
unaffiliated voters, indicating that momentum may be building among
the center for increased political action.
So, given all that, how did the Republican and Democratic caucuses in
Congress end up so much more conservative and liberal?
The two-party American political system produces polarization in
Congress. Both the Republican and the Democratic parties hold
primaries to choose general election candidates. Those nominating
contests are dominated by the most vocal, active party members -
conservatives and liberals who tend to support like-minded people.
Last year, that situation was even more pronounced as the tea party
coalition roiled GOP primaries and produced Republican nominees who
were far more conservative than usual.
Now, the House Republican roster includes some seven dozen tea
party-backed lawmakers and other staunch conservatives. And moderate
"Blue Dog" Democrats are virtually extinct; scores lost their
swing-voting districts in a coast-to-coast GOP wave.
"Compromise is a dirty word to the new members of Congress and a vital
word to the people they were sent to represent," said Matt Bennett, a
former Clinton aide and a vice president of the centrist Democratic
group Third Way. "It's a more polarized House representing an
electorate that is really seeking moderation. There's a big disconnect
between their caucuses and their voters."
The Senate is arguably less polarized than the House; Democrats
succeeded in limiting the number of GOP takeaways to six. Still, new
Republican senators include tea party-supported Rand Paul of Kentucky
and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, as well as conservatives Pat Toomey of
Pennsylvania and Marco Rubio of Florida.
From the outset, it's clear that Boehner is trying to strike a balance
between his constituents and his members.
"This is the people's house. This is their Congress. It's about them,
not us," Boehner said after he took the gavel as speaker.
Still, in a nod to his caucus' right flank, he scheduled a vote next
week on repealing the health care law. Republicans don't expect to
kill it. It makes sense for them not to; the GOP wants to run against
health care in 2012 and that important constituency - independents -
prefer that the law be changed, not repealed. House leaders facing
demands from the right to immediately cut spending also indicated they
wanted to cut $100 billion from the federal budget. But it didn't take
long before GOP leaders bowed to the reality of governing and scaled
back their goal.
Come February, during debate over a massive spending bill to keep the
government running, the country will see how successful Boehner has
been at keeping the right in line and how much Obama is willing to
compromise.
The challenge for Boehner is to avoid what happened after the 1994
Republican Revolution when the GOP took control of Congress.
Back then, House Speaker Newt Gingrich failed to keep his
rabble-rousing conservative warriors in line, leading to a government
shutdown. Clinton came out on top, and handily won re-election in
1996.
Obama already has signaled a desire to go the route of Clinton,
signaling a willingness to work with Republicans on several issues,
including trade deals with Colombia and Panama as well as the
reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind education act.
On Day 1 of the new Congress, the fight for middle-of-the-road voters
was well under way. It won't end until November 2012.
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010503216_2.html
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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