Departing Congress Faces a Turbulent Fall

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shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
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Maybe if ALL of congress departed we could have at least 2 years where they do the right thing instead of sucking the lobbyist tit.
 

Jhhnn

IN MEMORIAM
Nov 11, 1999
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The Democrats because they are not in charge can not blame the Republicans. Now the Republicans can blame the Democrats.

Until a super majority exists in both chambers for a single party; there will be gridlock.

compromise has become a dirty word.

You mean until Repubs can fulfill their radical right agenda there will be gridlock.

The only times we experience gridlock is with a Dem In the White House & Repubs able to filibuster or worse. They gridlocked Clinton & now Obama, but there was no gridlock during the GWB years.
 
Feb 4, 2009
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I get it however they don't do a good job of explaining it. They've been around a few years and still only wonky guys like us know about it.
 

nickqt

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2015
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The Republican party was essentially out of power in both houses of Congress from 1932 until 1994, with brief control in small stints here and there.

Combined--Control_of_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_-_Control_of_the_U.S._Senate.png


When Reagan said "...government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem", it was taken as gospel by the Republican party. I mean, Reagan stomped Carter and returned the Senate to Republican hands, which was a pretty big thing

It's why the Republican party essentially has no desire to govern by compromise, and continues passing bills to repeal the ACA when they are guaranteed to fail. It's also why they sign loyalty oaths to individuals like Grover Norquist, who wants to shrink government down so that it can fit in a bathtub, and then be drowned. If government is the problem, then why try to make it work? Let's just kill it and privatize everything.

Of course, even when Reagan said "...government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem", the elipses leave out a pretty important qualifier:

"In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem". In essence, government can do things, y'all. And if you honestly look at Reagan's administration, it used government for things like, uh, the government is used for, uh, everywhere on the planet.

So, here we are. Democrats, the evil socialist communists that they are, will discuss spending cuts and tax increases, but Republicans are verboten from even discussing the raising of taxes, otherwise ol' Grover gets upset, screams of RINO!™ are lobbed far and wide, and then...a primary challenge from the right.

You can see it here:

https://youtu.be/WKzGZj32LYc

And I mean, what's the point of getting elected to a safe, gerrymandered district if you're just going to lose the primary to some used car salesman who knows all the right conjuring words?

So, a little history and context explains why Congress is basically useless, and continues delegating power to the Executive Branch, and then whining about it later like babies.

Ultimately, Congressmen love it. Show up to work, get all sorts of nice socialist benefits paid by taxpayers, get prestige and establish contacts for a lucrative post-political career in lobbying, and basically just complain about the Executive branch while doing essentially nothing.

Great work, if you can get it.