Congress: The Roots of Obstruction
Like Rodney Dangerfield, this Congress doesn't get much respect. Americans rate it slightly above sludge, but below George Bush, the least admired president in the history of polling. McCain strategists hope to discredit Barack Obama by linking him to Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Progressives shudder as they watch Democrats hand over a blank check to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and rail against the coming collapse on off-shore oil drilling. Republicans chant about the "do-nothing Congress."
But take another look. The reputation of the Congress would be very different had the Republican minority and George Bush not orchestrated a systematic campaign of obstruction to bottle up any progress. For example, majorities in both Houses of Congress voted for:
Setting a date certain to bring the occupation of Iraq to an end, freeing up the $12 billion a month in direct costs (about a billion a day in total) for vital needs here at home;
Saving seniors tens of billions in prescription drug prices by empowering Medicare to negotiate discounts for its bulk purchases;
Investing billions in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, generating green collar jobs, and paying for it by repealing subsidies for oil companies already pocketing the greatest profits in recorded history;
Providing health care for millions of children of working and poor families, giving them with a chance for a healthy start to life;
Ensuring that soldiers be guaranteed adequate rest and recovery between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan;
The Congress also managed to pass the first increase in the minimum wage in a decade, the largest increase in college aid since the GI Bill, and cleaned up its own act a bit. Now this isn't everything, but stopping a bad war, changing our energy policy, caring for the troops and providing more affordable health care to seniors and children isn't a bad start.
What stopped these measures from becoming law was a purposeful and unprecedented "block and blame" obstruction strategy by the Republican minority. In the Senate, Republicans have routinely filibustered every major piece of Democratic legislation. As a report by the Campaign for America's Future which I help direct reveals, this has forced a record number of cloture votes that require a super-majority of sixty votes to end the filibusters. This was reinforced by over 119 veto threats by President Bush(who never issued a veto as the previous Republican congresses ran up record deficits). Majority rule has essentially been repealed.
The strategy hasn't been a secret. Conservatives have openly gloated about it. Conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer told Fox News viewers, "I think [Democrats' inability to pass legislation][ will give the Republicans the one opening they are going to have in 2008. Everything is running against the Republicans, but I think they have a chance if they argue that the Democrats have been in charge and they are the do-nothing Congress." Or as former Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss, told Roll Call, "The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail...and so far it's working for us."
Now this is sort of like knee-capping the postman and then complaining that the mail is late. Will Republicans get away with it? As the economy has plummeted, they've started to worry. Recently, Republican Senators up for re-election have started to bail out, moving to help overcome filibusters and veto threats on Medicare funding. Politico reports that GOP leaders are advising vulnerable senators to "get well" with voters by siding with Democrats on everything but energy and national security.
As the economy gets worse, incumbent legislators should be nervous whether in the majority or the minority. But as Republicans posture about the do-nothing Congress, it's worth remembering that much would have gotten done had they not been in the way.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I still put the brunt of the blame on the Dems. While I understand that they don't have a large enough majority to overturn presidential vetoes in most cases.. congressional dems should have at least held weekly press conferences shaming the Republicans. But they just stood by and watched (and in many cases, helped) the Repubs ruin this country.
The Democrats have wasted the last 8 years... DOING NOTHING. There was the voter disenfranchising problems of 2000 and 2004... they should have come up w/ concrete plans to introduce legislation to improve (or change) the way we vote in this country. But they did nothing and then In 2008... it was the DEMS that were accused of disenfranchising voters in FL and MI. Pathetic.
Although late in coming (in my opinion)... the Dems have the PERFECT opportunity RIGHT NOW to change their party for the better. The need to keep this 50-state strategy in place AFTER THE ELECTION. It could be modified to not only train organizers/volunteers and register voters... but to also train people willing to become DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS !! They should make it a priority to become VISIBLE in local and state events year round (as opposed to only during election years). Get people actively involved in the Democratic party... become familiar w/ its policies, rules and procedures... and most importantly IT'S AGENDA. People have to come to know exactly what the Democratic party stands for.
Lets see in many ways, Run up the price of oil, to $ 150.00,then throw people into a panic,thinking drilling, is going help solve the problems?? 1st,The oil companies do an amazing job bring oil to the market, but most importantly, America NEEDS (1st)National policy on consumption,hybrids,wind power,solar,and building bridges & trains etc. Then the States (decide)consider about drilling in protected
lands.... Remember,T.R. PERSERVED Yellowstone as national treasure!!!!
"Victory belongs to the most persevering"
Napleon
I heard Nancy on Jon Stewart blaming the lack of progress on GOP obstruction, but let's face it Nancy, you got the ball rolling (or stopped it from rolling) with "Impeachment is off the table" - why didn't you at least LOOK like you were going to changing the course of disaster the GOP had put us on, and said nothing at all or at least "Impeachment is worth looking at".
Nancy and those who rolled over with her right after the elections of 2006 don't deserve to be elected again.
HEAR! HEAR! And now it's allowing a vote on congressional contempt by Rove and others.
A lot of the scorn for this congress has to do with its disdain for protecting the Constitution and congressional duty. Pelosi is having none of that. And for that, she and every other Democratic "leader" should be led out of congress.
Games, games and more games:
The Medicare Prescription Drug Savings & Choice Act passed the House 255 to 170 with 24 Republicans joining all but 2 (abstaining) Democrats, at which point Bush promised to veto the bill if it reached his desk. On April 18, 2007, in a vote of 55-42, a motion to invoke cloture and bring the bill to an immediate vote was rejected in the Senate.
On 2/28/07, Dennis Kucinich introduced a bill to end the United States occupation of Iraq immediately (HR 1234). It was referred to committee and remains there.
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 (HR 5351), passed House 236-182 with 17 Republicans siding w/ Democrats and 8 Dems -John Barrow, Dan Boren, Henry Cuellar, Gene Green, Nicholas Lampson, Charles Melancon, Solomon Ortiz, Ciro Rodriguez – voting no. Failed to pass cloture vote in Senate, referred to committee.
Children’s Health Bill, passed the House 225-204 and the Senate 64-30, but was vetoed by Bush. Eighteen Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate, enough to override Bush's veto. But the House was thirteen votes short of a successful override 229 Democrats and 44 Republicans supported the bill; two Democrats and 154 Republicans voted against it.
Fifty-six senators — including seven Republicans — voted in favor of the Webb Amendment for adequate “dwell time” between deployments but the measure fell short of the 60-vote supermajority Republicans had demanded, exploiting Senate rules.
One of the major problems is that we do not have an engaged citizenry. Far too many people sit around twiddling their thumbs and paying no attention whatsoever to what is going on around them.
It starts in communities, large and small, in every corner of this country. Few people go to community council meetings, school board meetings or any other political gathering in which pertinent topics are discussed and voted on and then people act surprised when something they oppose is instituted.
In many voting districts fewer than 50% of the population doesn't even bother to vote...and I suspect this same figure works for statewide and national elections.
And what about the media? Journalism is not supposed to be about "entertainment"-- it's supposed to deseminate information, honest information, to the populace. Instead we get endless talking heads who twist and turn and spin information to suit their own biases, agendas, and presumed audiences.
As it stands, everything is so distorted that it is virtually impossible to determine what is real and what has been pre-chewed for public consumption. I, for one, believe almost nothing that is on television or in the newspapers. I cannot imagine how "journalists" can repeat things they KNOW to be untrue, or permit lies to be told to their faces without challenge and still call themselves journalists.
The hypocrisy in this country is epidemic and it is the common citizen who is on life support.
It's also worth remembering that until the 2006 elections,it was a Republican majority Congress. The present Democratic majority, 110th Congress, has only been since Jan 2007. So, to expect so much, and blame them for everything is unjust and unfair. In just one year in session, and so much damage to pick up after this Administration, it's impossible to see tangible results, especially with a chimp for Pres threatening to veto everything.
I too wish the Dems were more ruthless, like the Reps are, but to blame them for everything, when all they've had is one year of a feeble majority, under the current conditions, is really undeserved!
Pelosi indicted herself on the Daily Show by bragging that she stopped any vote on offshore drilling. Why didn't she prevent a vote on warrantless spying and everything else that BushCo wants?
She is fully complicit in the demolition of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
In fact, Pelosi and Harry Reid are Mr & Ms. Santa Clause for the Bush (corporate) Agenda.
I absolutely agree. Those 2 are enablers and history will not be kind to them.
Talking Pez Heads @
http://sfbaysailingpix.com/pez2008p1.htm
There are certain things that Pelosi could not do because she is after all third in line for the Presidency and that carries grave implications if she does anything that would appear like she is using her power to gain more power
And repubs should have been allowed to filibuster to their hearts' content. Then maybe we WOULD be done sending 12b/month to Halliburton In Iraq. Perhaps the House should start impeachment hearings on Bush asap if it's true that he cannot pardon himself and everyone in sight if he is under impeachment proceedings at the time.
The only reason that the current congress enjoys such low poll numbers is that they HAVE completely failed to take on repubs. They are getting all of the scorn for not getting anything done by independents and repubs. They could have at least enjoyed support from the Dems who elected them if they'd shown some knowledge of the rules and enough backbone to take the risk.
Most of those who commented has already pointed this out, but I'd like to say that this is a typical situation where someone brings a pillow to a gun fight, then complaint about the result.
The Main Stream Media see the power struggle as some sort of sporting event, and that the Republicans are winning. So do the general public. Do they really care what's the cause of it? No.
The bottom line here is that the Democratic leadership, with plenty of ways to deal with the minority Republicans, CHOOSE to lose this battle of power struggle, and have none but themselves to blame.
It was a well orchestrated attempt to consolidate power.
In 2006 Dems campaigned on the premise that if they were given power, they WOULD end the war in Iraq. Not maybe. And they were handed majorities in both houses of Congress. Just a majority in the House alone was enough power to defund the war. All they have to do is not pass new funding legislation, and Paleolosi could have done that at any time. Instead, she passed funding over and over again.
Why would they do that? Do they love war? I think they're doing it so in 2008 they can say "Those big bad Republicans stopped us from doing anything substantial, and we need MORE power."
If you think Dems want exactly 60 votes in the Senate this year, you're crazy. They would rather have 59 than 60, because then in 2010 they can come back yet again and say "We need MORE power." And of course, the Dem voters will gulp it on down. You're being played like a fiddle.
I just don't buy it. The behavior of the majority continues to be inexcusable and inexplicable.
Republican obstructionism is one thing. That doesn't explain why a Democratic Congress repeatedly passes White House dream-bills. The FISA Amendment, for example, flew through both houses of Congress with only the most tepid resistance.
In my opinion, the fault for Congress' low approval ratings falls SQUARELY with the Democrats, particularly Blue Dogs, for capitulating to every Republican demand despite the Democratic majority. The Democrats need to step up and vote in the interest of the people they represent.
YES. And since the repubs set out to do exactly what has happened, all dems currently in congress deserve the poor polls they are receiving. Surely even blue dog dems know that at the end of the day they are still dems taking the blame for the current situation.
Just look at the differences in how the media covers things. You fail to understand how fully in the pocket of conservatives the media is. Any of the issues you wanted a principled fight on could and would have been turned against the democrats. The media doesnt even cover this present topic in a way the shows why Congress is doing nothing.
Oh the conservative press will vilify us poor dems...
They will no matter what the dems do, except perhaps if the dems just become rethugs.
Very few of us really get it, do we? When will we learn that all those senators and congresspersons really represent only the ones they get MONEY from. It is so much more important to get lots of money for their next election, than to try to help the ones that elected them. Thirty or forty years ago I don't think this election money played such a huge role in the Congress, but I, of course, could be wrong.
Is blocking even a vote on drilling obstructionist?
Your article is on the road, but a couple of things worth mentioning. (1) A compliant media that has helped not to promote the truth about the obstructionists in Congress, but has helped to make the Democrats look as though they are just sucking their collective thumbs, (2) the higher hopes that the American public had (legislation would get passed, funding would be cut for Iraq, etc.) as they went to vote the bums out, and (3) that this housing/economic bubble would burst the way that it is.
Of course having said that I do believe that for the last 30 years we the people for the most part have allowed ourselves to become less vigilant about our civic duties. We have forgotten that power concedes nothing without a demand and a fight! We have bought the lies, lies, and more damn lies that continue to pour forth from the mouths of the very people that are ripping us off! We have allowed ourselves to be divided by cultural issues (GOD, gays, guns, abortion, etc), while the good ole boy corporate elite network is raping (yes, raping) our country in every way possible.
You are so correct! The Conservative, fundamentalist, deeply religious, Bush/McCain followers care more about "GOD, gays, guns, abortion, etc." than anything else. What ever happened to just being a good, hardworking, caring, patriotic and human American?
As far as I'm concerned the Congress is still "on the hook". Sure the Republikans are obstructionist servants of the corporations--that is their ratio vivendi--but the Congress did nothing in their power to resist.
Why didn't they force the Republikan worms to actually take the floor and filibuster, instead of meekly surrendering on the mere threat? Why didn't they put Rove, Gonzales, Miers, et al., in jail under inherent contempt? Why didn't they put impeachment "on the table" where it so richly deserves to be? Why didn't they actually make Bushthief exercise the veto, and then loudly place the blame on him? Why haven't they impeached the traitors on the Supreme Court who sold the country out in Bush v. Gore?
The Congress deserves their poor ratings, because they are Bush enablers. The Constitution gives ultimate power to Congress, and they have forfeited their position. I don't see why 9% support them--they deserve less.
The statistics becomes even more interesting when you look at the breakdown by political affiliation. As Glenn Greenwald recently wrote at Salon:
"Perhaps most remarkable, some polls -- such as one from Fox News last month -- reveal that the Democratic-led Congress is actually more unpopular among Democrats than among Republicans, with 23 percent of Republicans approving of Congress compared with only 18 percent of Democrats. One would be hard-pressed to find a time in modern American history, if such a time exists at all, when a Congress was more unpopular among the party that controls it than among voters from the opposition party."
And why shouldn't Republicans be thrilled? In addition to easily obstructing any Democratic bill they oppose, the minority has been able to pass bills that they actually FAILED to pass when they held the majority prior to 2006!
Democrats are so desperate for control that they don't realize majority status only counts for something if it serves to advance the ideology of your party.
It's because us Dems expected more out of them when we fought to get them elected in 2006. There's nothing worse than getting your hopes up only to be shot down time and time again.
But lucky for them, they will keep their seats because the huge coming backlash against the Republicans will be the only thing that saves them.
alamac, well said. I totally agree with you. There's no point in making excuses for these cowards.
The less congress "accomplishes" the better off we are. Besides I hear Pelosi is busy saving the planet now anyway. Whats with these democrats and their God complexes?
"The less congress "accomplishes" the better off we are."
Spoken like a good Republican.
Famous words similar to these (I'm from the government and I'm here to help) ushered in the Reagan 'revolution' and look where we are now.
Congress absolutely needs to wrack up some accomplishments to fix the train wreck our country has become. Healthcare, minimum wage, closing tax loopholes, revert the tax breaks for the rich are only starters...
Not doing anything only keeps the derailed train plowing us into the dirt
Stopping congress from "helping" us is a great virtue.
The Democrats could be using Republican obstructionism as a weapon against them, but instead they choose to enable it. Nobody forced Pelosi and Reid to take impeachment off the table - it was their own idea. Obama did not have to vote for FISA, but he did.
The reason the Democratic-led Congress has lower ratings than Bush is because we had higher expectations of them before they let us down.
Well stated and exactly right. The Dems, including Obama, were and are collaborators in Bush's war and war crimes, assault on the Constitution and generally repressive tactics. The Dems used transparent symbolic steps -- all noted in Borsoage's pathethic defense -- instead of making real efforts to end the war, end the assault on the Constitution and restore democracy. The crowning achievement of their collaboration was the confirmation of torturer, "executive-power-uber-alles" Mukasey in a Democratically controlled Senate. Close to that on the despicableometer are the never-ending hearings that find that Bush and Cheney repeatedly committed high crimes and misdemeanors and which the Republican operatives laugh at and ignore with the Dems continually doing nothing but whining.
The Dems have worked to have it both ways -- continue the war and the war crimes and the assault on the Constitution while passing symbolic gestures to appear opposed to the war crimes and assault on the Constitution.
The Congressional Dems are rated lower than dirt because they are lower than dirt. There are no decent Democratic Senators since Wellstone's death. Even the exalted Feingold didn't filibuster Mukasey.
This congress can't pass a budget so don't hold your breath waiting for impeachment. They managed to pass an apology to Native Americans on behalf of all of us who are not responsible.
That's just one more nail in Obama's coffin with middle class white people. Not that he has anything more than passing support but he wil be tied to Pelosi and Reid by election day and it will take him down along with his other weaknesses.
This should have been a dem sweep year and it's looking more and more like just a continuation of business as usual in Washington with new business cards.
I totally agree, bt68us.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
