Question: How will conservatives fare with a Democratic Congress in 2009?
What's on the Democratic agenda? Will Republicans be able to stop the more liberal parts of it? Will Congress be a rubber stamp for the Barack Obama administration?
Answer: While much of what will happen in 2009 is up for debate, the best way to see what's coming from the 111th Congress is by looking at the Democrats' legislative initiatives in the 110th.
Democrats were busy in 2008. Although there was little doubt their efforts would be thwarted by Republicans or vetoed by President Bush, Democrats nonetheless attempted to pass bills on global warming, children's health care, embryonic stem cell research and a windfall taxes on oil companies. Expect them to deliver in 2009.
Without a doubt, the first order of business will be to address President-elect Barack Obama's campaign initiatives -- but not all of them ... at least not right away.
The Bush tax cuts are set to expire in 2010, which means that Obama's promise to raise taxes on people and businesses making more than $250,000 probably won't receive Congressional consideration in his first 100 days.
Outside of Obama's legislative goals, Democrats likely will make their first priority getting final passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which was vetoed twice by President Bush. This proposal likely will be part of a larger package to move the country in the direction of universal health care.
The other major initiative will be to fix the broken No Child Left Behind Act, which has turned the American education system into a paper-work bureaucracy for administrators, a testing nightmare for students and a troublesome obstacle for teachers, who are forced to "teach to the test." While changes to the program are certainly in order, conservatives worry that the education reforms proposed by Democrats will go beyond the necessary solutions required to solve the act's problems. Amendments to the reform plan could include radically liberal education initiatives.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the Democratic agenda is on the national security front. Democrats have been trying to reduce the defense budget to scale back the admittedly flawed Patriot Act and have already announced plans to shut down Guantanamo Bay. Democratic leadership -- including President-elect Obama -- is sending other signals to the international community of their willingness to take a softer approach to national defense and security. Undoubtedly, this rhetoric has emboldened Osama bin Laden, who recently announced plans to conduct an attack on US soil that would outdo 9/11.
While the Republicans lost at least four more seats in the Senate (and possibly a fifth if the Minnesota election recount goes Democrat Al Franken's way), it appears -- for the moment, anyway -- that Republicans have not lost their ability to filibuster. That's a huge relief, considering it is their only remaining ability to block legislation. While that's somewhat reassuring, it's still a rather weak tool. In order for the filibuster to work all Republicans need to be on board, which is a phenomenon that is on a steady decline.
All in all, conservatives are poised to be in for a very wild ride after Jan. 20, 2009.
FAQ Index to 2008 Election Fallout FAQ Index
Democrats were busy in 2008. Although there was little doubt their efforts would be thwarted by Republicans or vetoed by President Bush, Democrats nonetheless attempted to pass bills on global warming, children's health care, embryonic stem cell research and a windfall taxes on oil companies. Expect them to deliver in 2009.
Without a doubt, the first order of business will be to address President-elect Barack Obama's campaign initiatives -- but not all of them ... at least not right away.
The Bush tax cuts are set to expire in 2010, which means that Obama's promise to raise taxes on people and businesses making more than $250,000 probably won't receive Congressional consideration in his first 100 days.
Outside of Obama's legislative goals, Democrats likely will make their first priority getting final passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which was vetoed twice by President Bush. This proposal likely will be part of a larger package to move the country in the direction of universal health care.
The other major initiative will be to fix the broken No Child Left Behind Act, which has turned the American education system into a paper-work bureaucracy for administrators, a testing nightmare for students and a troublesome obstacle for teachers, who are forced to "teach to the test." While changes to the program are certainly in order, conservatives worry that the education reforms proposed by Democrats will go beyond the necessary solutions required to solve the act's problems. Amendments to the reform plan could include radically liberal education initiatives.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the Democratic agenda is on the national security front. Democrats have been trying to reduce the defense budget to scale back the admittedly flawed Patriot Act and have already announced plans to shut down Guantanamo Bay. Democratic leadership -- including President-elect Obama -- is sending other signals to the international community of their willingness to take a softer approach to national defense and security. Undoubtedly, this rhetoric has emboldened Osama bin Laden, who recently announced plans to conduct an attack on US soil that would outdo 9/11.
While the Republicans lost at least four more seats in the Senate (and possibly a fifth if the Minnesota election recount goes Democrat Al Franken's way), it appears -- for the moment, anyway -- that Republicans have not lost their ability to filibuster. That's a huge relief, considering it is their only remaining ability to block legislation. While that's somewhat reassuring, it's still a rather weak tool. In order for the filibuster to work all Republicans need to be on board, which is a phenomenon that is on a steady decline.
All in all, conservatives are poised to be in for a very wild ride after Jan. 20, 2009.
FAQ Index to 2008 Election Fallout FAQ Index
- How will conservatives fare with a Democratic Congress in 2009?
- What will the White House be like with Obama -- and *gulp* -- Joe Biden in it?
- What will the fallout be from the passage of gay marriage bans in Arizona, California and Florida?
- How do conservatives rebound from 2008?
