I was watching the Lamont - Lieberman - Schlesinger debate today (they were, respectively, nervous, whiny, and theatrical) and I noticed that Lieberman referenced the "lame duck session." This piqued my interest. Sure enough, Congress has scheduled a session for after the November elections.
This isn't an uncommon practice, but it nevertheless concerns me. Congressional Quarterly, via CQPolitics.com, expects the Democrats to take the House and the Senate is clearly in play. What happens when the Republican Congress reconvenes after what, hopefully, will have been a Democratic landslide? They will plan ahead.
My prediction - watch for unrealistic, unsustainable "tax cuts" to be passed. The Democrats will be forced to repeal these or face a lack of revenue. The now-ousted Republicans would then be able to accuse Democrats of "raising your taxes," setting the stage for the 2008 congressional elections and a bogeyman for Republican presidential aspirants.
Any thoughts?
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Monday, October 16, 2006
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4 comments:
this possibility scares me as well, especially after we take over. realistically, democrats will not be able to accomplish anything since bush will veto any legislation we pass, and we will have a tough time defending our majority in the house in 2008, considering that a number of these seats, FL-16, TX-22, AZ-08, are just some examples of seats where we are unlikely to hold them in normal years under different circumstances. because of this, dems from these districts will tack to the right in an effort to appease some voters in their districts, and getting an agenda passed will be nearly impossibleg
Right, but the political process can be very slow. The important thing will be that we are finally making progress after over a decade of republican missrule.
This is definitely a scary prospect, but I don't think the lame duck congress will be able to pass anything too damaging. Our 44 + 1 current Senators will do what they must if it means keeping something truly damaging on ice, especially if they have the majority next year.
It'll be a dog with all bark and no bite. Plus, it's a tactic I think most people will be able to see right through.
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