Monday, January 01, 2007

 

Now This Is What I Want To See!

The Era of Pushover Democrats may well be over, per EZ Writer

Democrats plan to take no prisoners in their first 100 hours, according to the Washington Post (not online yet):
Instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Nov. 7 Democratic victory, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing the Democrats to trumpet early victories. Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who will become House speaker, and Steny Hoyer, the Marylander who will become majority leader, finalized the strategy in a flurry of conference calls and meetings with other party leaders over the holiday recess. A few Democrats, worried that the party would be criticized for reneging on an important pledge, argued unsuccessfully that they should grant the Republicans greater latitude when the Congress convenes on Thursday.
It's time to play some offense.
Indeed. As Kos pointed out last week, when it looked as if the Democrats might be suckered into being nice to the Republicans, the GOP was planning to repay that niceness with yet more of the GOP's trademark obstructionist nastiness:
Republicans are hoping Democrats stick to their guns and allow the minority a stronger voice on legislation. The opposition leadership said it would take the opportunity to put forward initiatives that could be potentially troublesome for newly elected Democrats in Republican-leaning districts who within months will have to defend their hard-won seats. “There are going to be days when we will offer alternatives in ways that are going to be very appealing to Democrats in districts the president carried just two years ago,” said Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, who will be the second-ranking House Republican in the 110th Congress. Republicans see the ability to force tough votes — which they avoided in the majority by stifling Democratic alternatives — as having two potential benefits: It can put vulnerable Democrats on record with positions that might not be popular at home, or it can fracture the untested Democratic majority. Mr. Blunt noted that even senior Democrats who served in Congress when Democrats held control had no experience dealing with a relatively thin, 16-seat majority that will not allow many lawmakers to avoid tough votes.
Heh. Well, Blunt's dreams of pulling crap like this have just been shoved back down his throat, with Tabasco sauce for a chaser. No more patsyism.


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