A Democratic Congress
Some very slick and sleazy politicking in the form of the Foley scandal could give America it’s first Democratic Congress in over a decade. So we have to ask ourselves is this a good thing or a bad thing and will it make any difference?
My guess is that a Democratic Congress wouldn’t lead to any significant change in our government or the national political climate. If they win the Democrats won’t have a large majority or any sort of popular mandate their election will rest on popular anger towards Washington. The Republicans will still have enough votes to kill any Democratic legislation and still have the Presidential veto.
The only upswing that I can see from a Democratic Congress would be a decrease in federal spending. The only reason we had a balanced budget in the Clinton years was that the President and Congress came from different parties. Since the President was a Democrat and Congress Republican, the president was free to veto lots of spending. A Democratic Congress would give Bush the ability to veto a lot of legislation and this could lead to spending cuts. Republicans would be free to vote against a lot of spending as well.
Of course we will still be at war and Democrats will be under pressure to support our troops and show they aren’t wimps on national security. So I have a feeling they’ll mindlessly vote for any National Security related legislation. Worse, I’m sure left wing cranks in the Democratic Party will attach some awful legislation to defense spending bills and Bush will have to sign them.
One example of this would be the restoration of the so called Fairness Doctrine , a federal law that would require broadcasters to present both sides of political issues. This would effectively kill talk radio but I’m not sure it’d make much difference these days. Conservative talkers would just follow the lead of Howard Stern and turn to satellite radio and the internet to reach their audience. The only losers would be traditional broadcasters who would be deprived of some of their most popular programming. The Fairness Doctrine would also be challenged in court and the courts might rule it violates free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The worst side effect of the Democratic Congress would be the witch hunting that would go on at the various committees. The Democrats’ left wing base is demanding that the Democrats punish the evil people they blame for the nation’s problems. Instead of doing anything constructive the Democrats will send out an endless stream of subpoenas to get every Bush staffer, Halliburton executive, neocon, army officer and CIA operative before their committees.
These events won’t be oversight they’ll be media circuses designed to appease the left wing mob nothing more. The questions will be politically loaded and there will be an emphasis on sensational sex scandals. My guess is there will be a search for an excuse to impeach Bush or try to. This will be a witch hunt modeled on the Ken Starr debacle ten years ago, the Democrats who criticized Republicans for appointing a special prosecutor to investigate and try and impeach Clinton will appoint a prosecutor to investigate and try and impeach Bush. Like Ken Starr this prosecutor will waste millions of dollars and accomplish nothing. The only result of impeach Bush will be to make Bush more popular, Clinton was made more popular by his impeachment.
Impeachment won’t be the worst excess of the Democratic Congress I imagine that Democrats anxious to please The New York Times editorial board and more importantly the wealthy campaign donors who read the gray lady will investigate abuses real and imagined in the war on terror. They will subpoena a long succession of covert operators, soldiers and accuse them of being war criminals. The public will be on the side of those fighting the bad guys who are trying to kill us and the Democrats will look really bad. Just as the Iran Contra Investigation made Oliver North a folk hero these investigations will make others into folk heroes for more credible reasons.
How will the three ring circus end? I imagine it will end in 2008 or 2010 with a new Republic majority in Congress. That is unless the Democrats grow up and behave like adults with self restraint, unfortunately I don’t think that’s possible in modern American politics.
My guess is that a Democratic Congress wouldn’t lead to any significant change in our government or the national political climate. If they win the Democrats won’t have a large majority or any sort of popular mandate their election will rest on popular anger towards Washington. The Republicans will still have enough votes to kill any Democratic legislation and still have the Presidential veto.
The only upswing that I can see from a Democratic Congress would be a decrease in federal spending. The only reason we had a balanced budget in the Clinton years was that the President and Congress came from different parties. Since the President was a Democrat and Congress Republican, the president was free to veto lots of spending. A Democratic Congress would give Bush the ability to veto a lot of legislation and this could lead to spending cuts. Republicans would be free to vote against a lot of spending as well.
Of course we will still be at war and Democrats will be under pressure to support our troops and show they aren’t wimps on national security. So I have a feeling they’ll mindlessly vote for any National Security related legislation. Worse, I’m sure left wing cranks in the Democratic Party will attach some awful legislation to defense spending bills and Bush will have to sign them.
One example of this would be the restoration of the so called Fairness Doctrine , a federal law that would require broadcasters to present both sides of political issues. This would effectively kill talk radio but I’m not sure it’d make much difference these days. Conservative talkers would just follow the lead of Howard Stern and turn to satellite radio and the internet to reach their audience. The only losers would be traditional broadcasters who would be deprived of some of their most popular programming. The Fairness Doctrine would also be challenged in court and the courts might rule it violates free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The worst side effect of the Democratic Congress would be the witch hunting that would go on at the various committees. The Democrats’ left wing base is demanding that the Democrats punish the evil people they blame for the nation’s problems. Instead of doing anything constructive the Democrats will send out an endless stream of subpoenas to get every Bush staffer, Halliburton executive, neocon, army officer and CIA operative before their committees.
These events won’t be oversight they’ll be media circuses designed to appease the left wing mob nothing more. The questions will be politically loaded and there will be an emphasis on sensational sex scandals. My guess is there will be a search for an excuse to impeach Bush or try to. This will be a witch hunt modeled on the Ken Starr debacle ten years ago, the Democrats who criticized Republicans for appointing a special prosecutor to investigate and try and impeach Clinton will appoint a prosecutor to investigate and try and impeach Bush. Like Ken Starr this prosecutor will waste millions of dollars and accomplish nothing. The only result of impeach Bush will be to make Bush more popular, Clinton was made more popular by his impeachment.
Impeachment won’t be the worst excess of the Democratic Congress I imagine that Democrats anxious to please The New York Times editorial board and more importantly the wealthy campaign donors who read the gray lady will investigate abuses real and imagined in the war on terror. They will subpoena a long succession of covert operators, soldiers and accuse them of being war criminals. The public will be on the side of those fighting the bad guys who are trying to kill us and the Democrats will look really bad. Just as the Iran Contra Investigation made Oliver North a folk hero these investigations will make others into folk heroes for more credible reasons.
How will the three ring circus end? I imagine it will end in 2008 or 2010 with a new Republic majority in Congress. That is unless the Democrats grow up and behave like adults with self restraint, unfortunately I don’t think that’s possible in modern American politics.
posted by great one at 6:02 PM
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