The Democrats caved on S-CHIP?
S-CHIP?
They caved on freaking S-CHIP?
Bring back Newt Gingrich, at least some things made sense back then.
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The would have super majorities in both houses in 2008 if they just did their fucking jobs.
Sorry boys, that’s real life.
Bush can veto everything that comes along until he gets exactly what he wants…and blame the Dems for the delay.
If the Dems don’t cave, the program shuts down.
So they should just cave? Please. Then don’t bother being in the majority then.
We got an obstructionist minority in congress coupled with a president that vetoes any piece of legislation that isn’t exactly the way he wants it. Democrats really have to start advertising this.
“So they should just cave? Please.”
What’s the alternative?
Sure, we’d love it if the Dems used the telekinetic powers to force George Bush to sign the bill. But I think the Supreme Court ruled that unconstitutional in um, U.S. v. Kreskin. Yeah, that’s the one.
Seriously. Either they pass it or they let the program shut down. Those are the only choices.
The fact is that they might actually win the odd battle if they actually forced the administration’s hand on EVERYTHING. Wear them down, make them actually have to filibuster, humiliate those in the House and Senate up for re-election in ‘08, and broadcast the GOP’s obstructionism at any and every opportunity. Bring up the GOP’s “nuclear option” every Sunday and MEAN IT. How could the GOP contest that? Imagine how ecstatic they are that Dems rolled over on that one, too, ’cause just imagine if the filibuster had been eliminated now. This is how you win elections. It amazes me when people come and piss out the usual excuse that Bush and the GOP still run the show. Bullsh*t. The GOP raised holy hell all through Clinton’s administration and what was their reward? Why complete dominance of all three branches. I laugh when I read people talk about how shutting down the government under Clinton hurt the GOP, so the Dems shouldn’t risk it now (putting aside the fact that it would be Bush shutting the government down). Forgetting the absolute 180 degree difference in the circumstances (and the public’s belief that the GOP is utterly corrupt…which they are), I have to ask, “How, exactly did the GOP suffer?” Complete majorities and the Presidency? Yes, yes, I know, “9-11 changed everything.” UH, no, the Republican theft of the 2000 election and the Dems capitulation on that little affront to the Constitution changed everything. 9-11 was just piling on. Now we have issues like FISA and S-CHIP where Bush could very well be forced to severely compromise his position or cave, and Reid and Pelosi give the Blue dogs and the other asshats a complete pass and roll over. With the DLC still running the show, we won’t see any change for decades, by which time it won’t matter. People need to stop acting like there’s time to burn here. The economy is on the verge of potentially tanking far, far worse than it has since the Depression (anyone remember the promised “soft landing” b.s.), inflation is rising, wages are effectively falling, the climate is collapsing faster with every new report, and to top it all off like some radioactive cherry, we have a significant contingent of military corporatist whores who see no problem with waging an endless war against a phantom enemy so long as they reap the riches and we suffer the fallout.
The time for aggressive leadership is NOW, not in some perfect future political fantasy land where “bi-partisan centrists” (aka “complete tools”) dance under rainbows and frolic with unicorns. Christ, enough with the excuses for EVERY DAMNED FAILURE.
76-10, wasn’t it? On FISA? What a f*cking joke.
I’m sympathetic to both sides of the argument. On one side, I’m with Bill, burn it down. On the other side, those kids aren’t going to have health care without SOME form of S-chip. The Democrats are at a disadvantage in that they (mostly) give a shit about the people. The Cons are all about regaining power and if they can’t do that they will set the stage for a horrendous 4 years under a Democratic president.
All this stuff is just Conservative scorched Earth policy, they want to turn this country to shit so that the Democrats will be blamed for it. I wish we had a leadership that would call them out on it, but would that meme take hold?
The thing is, I think that meme, that the GOP is trying to bring the house down, took hold over a year ago. People are getting desperate for a way out of all the messes of the past 7 years, and the frustration with the Dem Congress is a major manifestation of that. To me, this has nothing to do with the Dems caring about the public. If that were true, they’d have fought harder against the war or tried to put a stop to the collapse of corporate ownership of local media over at the FCC (really, stop bitching about being unable to get your message out when you let sh*t like that slide by unmolested). Then, there’s the FISA bill. Reid has so many tools at his disposal to block that abomination and he’s deliberately tabling all of them (just as Pelosi took the major cannon in the Congress’ arsenal, impeachment out of the picture). If Dodd hadn’t stepped up, that bill would be law. Period. The entire Dem Congress and only 1 man has the stones to put up a fight (keep this in mind when the other contenders for the Presidency chirp about how much they care about restoring our civil liberties). This kind of nonsense has, over the past year, simply reinforced the long standing belief among the GOP that the Dems are simply a bunch of posturing blowhards with no teeth to back up their bark. And they’re RIGHT (not entirely, but 76-10?). The Blue Dogs and Feinstein and Rockefeller and many others aren’t looking out for the people when they help push through racist right wing judges or aid in the cover up of CIA torture. Then there are all the “investigations” that never get any further than “I don’t recall” or play the “executive privilege” card. Care about justice? Then use the “Inherent Contempt” hammer. Enough with the show trials that go nowhere.
The GOP just blocked something like 62 pieces of legislation IN A SINGLE DAY. Many articles on the web claim they were all “filibustered,” but obviously that’s b.s. They simply didn’t get 60 votes. That ridiculous “gentleman’s agreement” that “requires” effectively lets everyone work 3 hours a day and head home to the Hamptons. Does anybody really think the GOP has the stamina to fight 62 pieces of legislation? Imagine if, right from November 2006, the Dems kicked that 60 vote atrocity to the curb and made the GOP fight every bill, effectively making every one of their obstructionist tactics evident to the entire population. Let the GOP explain how they were so opposed to S-CHIP that they felt it would be better to let all those millions of kids go without proper care. You can’t win a game of legislative chicken if you blink the second the other guy hits the gas.
The big take away here is that the Dems are seriously at peril of torpedoing their 2006 gains. It’s not that the GOP will sway many back to their side, but rather that millions simply won’t show up. This might not impact the House much, but the Senate could easily slide back into GOP hands.
Yes, you are correct. Democrats are abdicating their responsibility. The first part of Krugman’s first book talks about “revolutionary movements” such as the conservative takeover. In a theory borrowed from a work by Kissinger, he says that the opposition often fails when it tries to work with the other side. How you deal with a hostile movement is to throw out any pretense of bipartisanship. Democrats treat the obstructionists like equal partners in Congress what should happen is that while obstructionism is happening, Republicans should have NO opportunity to introduce bills, NO opportunity to even rename a post office, and be forced to really filibuster (in the Senate of course) every bit of legislation they object to. If Republicans object to a bill, it should be attached to a war funding bill. If the president won’t sign a war funding bill with riders, then send it back. Let him end his own war. Like a prominent Republican said a few years back, “Bipartisanship is date rape”.
As far as the 2008 election, I share some of your fears. Republicans win when independents stay home. Like the Congress, the conservative base is motivated and homogeneous. However there is such thorough disgust with Republicans here in the Northeast that 2008 may mean that Democrats get a clean sweep through Congress and some of the seats in the Senate that are up. The demographics look good for 5-6 seats, and that means Mr. Liebermann no longer matters. As if that was the only problem.
The fact is that they might actually win the odd battle if they actually forced the administration’s hand on EVERYTHING. Wear them down, make them actually have to filibuster, humiliate those in the House and Senate up for re-election in ‘08, and broadcast the GOP’s obstructionism at any and every opportunity.
Fine. If the only thing at stake is control of the legislative agenda, you’re absolutely right.
On the other hand, if funding a health care program for children is more than just a contest of wills–if it actually matters–Congress eventually arrives at a day when they must pass a bill that will be signed or abandon the program.
You’d have them de-fund the program for political advantage.
Quaker, that’s false. As I pointed out, it would be Bush who would have to de-fund S-CHIP, not the Dems. That may seem like small comfort should the program actually lose its funding, but I frankly doubt that would actually come to pass. This is precisely the problem with the current situation in Congress. The meme should be BUSH and the GOP are crushing S-CHIP, not the reverse. It’s a small detail with huge over-arching ramifications. Framing here is key and the Dems are terrible at it. Had the Dems truly pushed S-CHIP right up to the last second, they might have leveraged the “crisis” for more media exposure and put the spotlight back on the GOP’s morally bankrupt obstructionism. Just look at how the administration completely undercut the momentum on Iraq with their surge propaganda. Do you think the Dems have to pass a bill for war funding or abandon the troops? That’s a similar extension of the S-CHIP framing problem. The Dems need to get out in front of these issues and stop letting the GOP get their way quietly behind closed doors and on page A3,000,0000 of the NYT. The irony here is that people have long been arguing that Congress has the power of the purse and should use it to constrain Bush, yet here we are with yet another example of just the opposite taking effect.
bill, I agree with Quaker in respect to S-chip. You really think Bush gives a shit about children’s healthcare? He doesn’t have to run for reelection and the idiots at the Heritage Foundation and Club for Growth are pushing to kill S-chip.
Framing is important however. With Bush threatening veto the pressure should be on Republicans who can choose to give S-Chip a veto proof majority. Even in the Graeme Frost controversy I didn’t see any pressure on Senate Republicans, just the President.
If they don’t move on it, it can be used in November but in the meantime either kids don’t get insured or states pick up the check.
On the other hand, where you do confront Bush is on the war. I agree with John Edwards. If Bush vetos a bill on timelines then send THE SAME BILL back again and again.
You have a point Quaker, but at the same time Democrats need to publicize that the Republican obstruction is essentially playing chicken with the well being of children. Same with every other bill the Republicans are blocking or Bush is threatening to veto. FISA? If it’s so essential to the safety of America, why is Bush threatening to Veto it over telecom immunity? Etc Etc Etc. When they pass a bill like the SCHIP one, they need to come out and say, “look, we want something different, but because of Republican obstructionism, if we don’t pass this, the program gets destroyed. Ditto every single bill.
It’s gotten so bad the Republicans have reflexively filibustered their own bills.
“When they pass a bill like the SCHIP one, they need to come out and say, “look, we want something different, but because of Republican obstructionism, if we don’t pass this, the program gets destroyed.”
You mean like this?
Like this?
Like this?
Is that what you think the Dems should do?
I’m talking about getting in front of cameras and on the radio at every opportunity, not issuing press releases for a day or two and then letting the subject drop. Granted, the media is hardly Dem friendly, but when opportunities arise, they need work harder to exploit them and keep hammering the idea home that the GOP HATES the lower and middle class. It would also help to put pressure on vulnerable Republicans at the local level where they might worry about keeping their seats. It’s wrong to keep the focus on Bush, with the “we are helpless before the mighty veto” mantra. I believe it’s one of those cases where once the wall starts to crumble, each battle will become successively easier, though there will never be anything akin to a complete roll over since we all know the GOP simply doesn’t work like that.
Ultimately, S-CHIP proved to be a piss poor time to try and punt the political football into the face of the GOP. With a wasted year and no momentum to put the wind in their sails, the Dems were doomed to cave despite huge public support.
No. I think they need to go out and say: “The Republicans have blocked 62 bills so far, they’ve set the record for obstruction in only one year. Bush has vetoed 7 and threatened to veto another 53. They won’t come to the table and work on a compromise. They are playing a dangerous game of chicken with children’s health care. Obviously, we don’t like the bill that passed, but without it the program is finished.”
The Republicans keep pounding the “do-nothing” congress meme, the Democrats really need to go out and make sure the public knows why.
“The Republicans keep pounding the “do-nothing” congress meme, the Democrats really need to go out and make sure the public knows why.”
What are our liberal bloggers writing?