After five weeks of covering mostly local issues, we've decided to turn our attention to national concerns. The Democrats have had a month and one of us (Matt) thinks it's time to check on their progress.
Matt
The Democrats have been in control of both houses of Congress for a month now. They are working with a president who has an approval rating just above that of cancer. Campaign promises were made to change the direction in which the federal government was heading. However, nothing noteworthy has yet come out of this. The Democrats aren't directly confronting a president who has been expanding executive authority since he got into office. In other words, they are proving to be as spineless as critics have always claimed.
Two major issues have come to a head recently. The handling of the Iraq War has an approval rating of 26 percent and yet Congress has yet to force an open debate on the floor of either house. The president has also submitted his budget, claiming a need to enforce fiscal discipline, which slashes domestic social programs and requests a military budget that is reminiscent of Reagan.
The majority of Americans sees the Iraq War as a failure in planning and execution. It was a major issue in the last elections. When are Democrats going to force a showdown? They seem to be too afraid of seeming anti-troop to do anything. With the president's low approval rating, now is the time for bold action. The budget fight is the best place for them to force troop withdrawal, probably incrementally.
The budget proves that Bush has no intention of backing down from his principals and is going to do his best to keep Congress in line, as he always has. He talks about fiscal discipline, without raising taxes. In order to accomplish this, he is cutting $100 billion from Medicare/Medicaid and limiting growth of many other social programs.
He is also proposing a $142 billion war budget. According to the LA Times, defense officials admit that if troop levels stay the same, which is a distinct possibility, they will come back to Congress for more funds. The Democrats are saying that they will confront Bush on the budget, and they need to in order to prevent themselves from becoming irrelevant.
Doug
Sometimes hanging out with Matt can be exhausting. He is literally bloated with information and political perspectives. He has an opinion on nearly everything, and he is probably the only person I know who can cover the war, the budget and the Democrat-controlled Congress in less than 400 words. I get tired just thinking about it.
His first complaint, that the 110th Congress is already a failure, doesn't seem warranted just yet. He himself admits they have only been in control for around a month. I'm as frustrated and impatient as he is with the course our nation has taken, but I'm not willing to give up so easily. After the 2006 election, many of us fantasized about congressional subpoenas and a garbage can full of rubber stamps. At some point, those fantasies have to give way to realistic notions of bureaucracy, consensus and a healthy dose of civility.
On the other hand, I don't understand how or why Pelosi can be so chummy with President Bush. What happened to the west-coast liberal I fell in love with?
Matt goes on to decry Congress' unwillingness to limit troop levels with the power of the purse. Gay-sounding congressional powers aside, this isn't the Vietnam era. Back in those days, you didn't have to caveat every single statement with but I support our troops. And, although I support our troops one thousand percent, I miss the days when Congress could make decisions without regard for yellow bumper magnets. I'm sad to say I don't think the majority of the American people would be able to separate war funding and troop support. Believe me, there is a difference.
The last of Matt's points I want to mention is Bush's proposed budget. I'm surprised at his outrage. Did Matt actually expect Bush to suddenly turn out a reasonable budget built on compromise? Perhaps he thought that Bush would be more restrained because Congress is in the hands of the Democrats. I never imagined Matt could be so na+
17 Archives
Matt Mossman
Democrats: spineless failures or overwhelmed leaders
