Where are the jobs Mr Speaker? One Month In WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has struggled to project an image of serenity in the opening weeks of the 112th Congress while working to rein in nearly 90 freshman lawmakers. Some Republicans have suggested that the difficulties that Boehner and the rest of the new House leadership have encountered, such as a backlash over spending cuts, are part of a natural learning curve. But when Democrats took control of the House under President George W. Bush in 2007, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) didn't have that experience. Gaveled in on Jan. 5, 2011, Boehner presided over the passage of four bills during his first month as speaker, with a total of just 25 votes. The most notable of those was a repeal the president's signature health care law -- a move that was viewed as a strictly symbolic gesture, as it is not expected to pass or even get a vote in the Senate. By contrast, Pelosi, gaveled in on Jan. 4, 2007, led the Democratic Congress in passing 19 bills during her first month as speaker, including all six of the bills targeted in her "First 100 Hours" agenda. Why the discrepancy? Well, part of it is that Democratic Congress of 2007 spent more of its first month in session: As of Feb. 1, 2007, Congress had been in session for 16 days, 134 hours, and 50 minutes, according to the Congressional Record. By contrast, this year Republican leadership determined the House would be in session for only 11 days, 62 hours, and 5 minutes of its first month, according to the Congressional Record. Some of that time was spent reading the entire U.S. Constitution on the House floor, a nod to Tea Party activists. Florida Rep. Bill Young (R), a 38-year veteran of the House, has insisted that the GOP's legislative difficulties can be chalked up to growing pains. "The new majority has different leadership than the last time we actually were the majority. [They] have to make their own way, they have to make their own decisions, set their own policies," Young recently told Politico. "There's a learning curve for leaders. There's a learning curve for members."
...and so it begins. It's a funny thing about power, you always hear exactly the same stories. The minority always claims "poor me" and "just wait till I get in power". The majority always claims "it was the last guys fault" and "I need a little more time".
And the truth is there, somewhere in between. Of course, it requires one to open their eyes and see the truth staring them in the face, something the people of Texas seem incapable of doing these last several years, present company excepted.
Not sour grapes, texxx, but rather that old saw, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." When my party faced the same situation faced by the Republicans in Congress today, their every move, good or bad, was micro-analyzed. If they did do something good, it was either denounced or ignored. If they did something bad, it was trumpeted to the heavens. If they were merely mediocre, it was portrayed as abject failure. Expect the same for your party this time around, except you should be encouraged by past history. Your party is simply better at telling lies, making up stories, and giving the spin in the direction you desire. The Democratic Party isn't nearly as good at that sort of stuff.
thanks! Care to actually contribute to the thread? How do you feel about only 4 bills being passed in a month by the republican majority? Or taking a week off after every 2 of work? Doesn't look to me like republicans are keeping their promise to the American people.
So Republicans have been in charge for a month and the biggest accomplishment they've managed so far was to save some paper by making it so bills can now be viewed online instead of printed. Why does that not surprise me?
Do you have a crush on me? bigtexxx nice job living up to your reputation as a shining beacon of originality and creativity. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=5948278&postcount=12
This is the only part that really bothers me. There seems to be a historical pattern to this. One party simply is willing to work more on behalf of the American people. I understand disliking their priorities and policies, etc, but I don't understand how one group can talk in soaring language about how American hard work and American business will take care of everything and then just... not work very hard. Bush II was the same way, in terms of vacation hours logged. Maybe it's consistent because they want to "reduce government," so they are thereby "reducing governance."
The funny thing (to me) is that any of you expect members of congress to work hard or to act in the best interest of their constituents as opposed to special interests. Both sides are pathetic. Just when I was sick of the Repub Congress and didn't think it could get any worse, along come the Dems. Then when I feel like it can't get worse than them, the Repubs come back and do jack. LOVE all the talk of reducing spending, getting the deficit under control and they pull the predictable move of trying to cut social programs as opposed to actual portions of the budget that are hugely bloated and could really impact our out of control spending. Neither side is worth a hill of beans and we will continue to bicker and defend them while they continue to drive our country into the ground. Happy trails!
It's really easy to point fingers and say both sides are just as bad, but to me that seems like a really lazy (and wrong) line of argument. The fact is that when the Dems took over Congress in 2007, they made a promise to immediately pass a handful of bills and they followed through on it. The Republicans have yet to deliver on any promises and in fact have tried to backtrack on some of their major promises already.
ding ding ding. It's like some of the hollier-than-all yet zero-sum "arguments" you see all the time in GARM. it's like: "I'm so smart and if only I was running things, I would... wait, I mean, the way things are now is so stupid!"
My bad. I guess I should let my political ideologies and party affiliation get in the way of a true evaluation of the wonderful job congress has done
Exactly. Those who smugly declare, essentially, "A plague on both your houses!" (as in, "you both suck!"), simply have blinders on. They are NOT equally to blame for the problems that face us, nor are they both equal to the task we face to confront those problems. What has the country in such a mess today is the structual disfunction of the tax code, excessive spending, and the continual blaming of "everything" that has gone wrong the last several years on one paticular political party, the Democratic Party, by a party that cries to the heavens about policies and issues minor to the real cause of our deficit delimma. A party that wails about the NEA and the EPA, for example, when the current cause of our huge deficits are Republican policies. Simply look at what was passed by George W. Bush and his political party in power in Congress while he was in office. Tax cut after tax cut for the wealthy and corporate America during two wars, an act without precedent in American history, all the while claiming it would increase revenue and lead to a balanced budget, when they knew damn well what they weren't telling the American people... that it wouldn't work, that it would lead to an enormous increase in the deficit, and that they simply didn't care. They were working for those who brought them into office and kept them there. The wealthy and corporate America. Who has paid the price? The American middle class, that's who, and they continue to pay the price. Anyone who places the bulk of the problems facing us today on the Democratic Party is either dishonest or blind.
Why are Democrats complaining about a do nothing Republican congress? It isn't like you would be pleased with any legislation they do pass. I would have loved for the Democratic congress not to pass any bills, because most of what they passed was stuff I didn't want.
I'm complaining about people who blame both political parties, or simply blame the Democrats, for the really bad situation we currently find ourselves in, when it's perfectly obvious who should shoulder the most blame. The Republican Congress under George W. Bush, and the Bush Administration. All the hair pulling and crying about tax dollars spent on the NEA and the EPA, using two examples, that we constantly hear about from the GOP and their supporters have nothing to do with the structual deficit created by the policies of the former Republican Congress and former Republican President.
