Nathan Newman wrote:
> It is worth emphasizing
> that for all the talk of this being the first time in many decades since
> the
> GOP controlled the Presidency and both Houses, the reality is that the
> first
> two years of Reagan, the GOP had far more solid control of the whole
> establishment of government.
.
-That's a relief. Last year I was led to believe that a Bush victory would
-lead to a right-wing Republican stranglehold on every American institution
-we hold dear. It's good to know that hasn't happened.
Yes, thank god the unions and civil rights organizations helped win five Senate seats for the Dems in order to deny Bush working control of the Senate. I have to admit that once that happened on election night, I was much more relaxed about the whole Bush-Gore recount fight. Bush winning was bad but not the complete nightmare it would have been if the GOP had 55 Senate seats and Trent Lott could ignore Jeffords, Chafee, Specter, Snowe and Collins.
The repeal of the ergonomic standards and the other anti-abortion and anti-union executive orders are a major human loss for people in this country and all over the world, but the damage is not as bad as it could have been if the GOP had full working control of the Senate.
As for Doug's question on the agenda of the Dems, of course it's Bush lite; while the GOP does not have full working control, the Dems have even less control so all they can do is try to herd the moderates to soften the edges of the Bush agenda until they try to regain control of the Congress in 2002.
But if Bush lite focuses on issues like a stronger Patent Bill of Rights, broader prescription drug benefits for the elderly, and more funding for education - that's not a terrible agenda to seek to achieve when you don't have a working majority and have to compromise.
But if you want the official Congressional agenda of the Congressional Dems, check out http://familiesfirst.house.gov/main.asp which lists the following priorities: 1) Federal money for more teachers and smaller class sizes 2) More money without privatization for Social Security and Medicare 3) Increased tax credits and grants for higher education 4) Patients bill of Rights to sue insurance companies 5) Expand 55+ folks to buy into Medicare and expand federal health coverage to all children and more adults 6) Ad prescription drug benefit to Medicare (not a limited separate program like Bush's plan) 7) Expanded environmental enforcement and anti-sprawl legislation 8) Expanded child care funding and $3000 tax credit to elderly and disabled individuals in need of long-term care 9) Strengthening enforcement of Equal Pay laws 10) Expanding medical and personal privacy protection
It's not socialism but it's a solid incremental improvement in peoples' lives. I never maintain that the Dem party as a whole has my full politics, but there are legislators who are pushing for even more extensive reform, so it's worth supporting.
-- Nathan Newman