Congressional Lame Duck Session: Nightmare on Pennsylvania Ave

[The Rabbi]

OK, so the Dems have been flamed to a crisp. Nancy Pelosi refused to go down with the ship and is still angling for power. The biggest turnover mid term since 1938. They've got nothing to lose.
How bad will the lame duck session of this congress be? What horrors will they pass while they can? Card check? Cap n trade? Total abolition of the U.S. Constitution?
Thoughts?

 

[elvis]

Obama will run to the center and get things done just like Clinton did. then he'll get re-elected.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

I believe Kirk and Manchin are seated immediately in the senate. This may prevent the scorched earth policies.

 

[Sallow]

President Clinton never "ran" to the center. Gingrich and the republicans closed down government and impeached him. He also "ran" as a Centrist.

President Obama..is probably a bit more on the right of Clinton. He just had a heck of a lot worse stuff to deal with..

 

[elvis]

President Clinton never "ran" to the center. Gingrich and the republicans closed down government and impeached him. He also "ran" as a Centrist.

President Obama..is probably a bit more on the right of Clinton. He just had a heck of a lot worse stuff to deal with..

"centrist" is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think obama is to the right of either Clinton.

 

[Annie]

I believe Kirk and Manchin are seated immediately in the senate. This may prevent the scorched earth policies.

Illinois legislature is still Democrat controlled:

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk? - American Princess

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk?

Weirdly, it seems that Illinois' official process for certifying the Senator-elect will prevent Mark Kirk from taking his seat in Washington until well after the lame duck session has started. I could be outrageously outraged with outrage on this particular subject, but if you didn't expect some monkey business was in store for the Republican winner of this hard fought election, I have an apartment in the Chicago Spire to sell you.

Unlike two other newly elected U.S. senators, Republican Mark Kirk won't be seated in time for the start of the lame-duck session of Congress later this month.

The postelection session begins Nov. 15. But state officials say the paperwork officially declaring Kirk the winner of Illinois' Senate race won't be delivered to Washington until Nov. 29, and then the Democratic-controlled Senate would have to sign off on Kirk's admission.
​

Kirk is one of three newly elected Senators who will get to hit the seats early, the others being Chris Coons of Delaware taking the place of the esteemed Joe Biden, and Joe Manchin from West Virginia who will fill the seat vacated when Robert Byrd went to that great legislative house in the sky. Both Coons and Manchin have states who work on regular timetables, so the results of their respective elections will be certified within a reasonable time period and they'll be seated at the beginning of the Lame Duck session. Illinois, however, has an ass-backward system that depends heavily on the schedules of Democratic leaders and the collective competence of Illinois' electoral system, so results won't be certified until November 19, and the Board of Elections won't officially certify a winner until the 23rd. Then, Quinn has to sign it and send it to the Senate, who will probably get the letter on the 29th.

Mark Kirk won't be packing any bags for DC until sometime after that, maybe December 3rd. That is, of course, at the discretion of the Senate which is controlled by Democrats who might need Roland Burris's mild insanity for a few more weeks if they want to pass the last meaningful legislation of their careers. When the Administration is already admitting defeat and seeking out compromise on extending the Bush Tax Cuts, you know they're going to be desperate...

 

[LordBrownTrout]

I believe Kirk and Manchin are seated immediately in the senate. This may prevent the scorched earth policies.

Illinois legislature is still Democrat controlled:

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk? - American Princess

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk?

Weirdly, it seems that Illinois' official process for certifying the Senator-elect will prevent Mark Kirk from taking his seat in Washington until well after the lame duck session has started. I could be outrageously outraged with outrage on this particular subject, but if you didn't expect some monkey business was in store for the Republican winner of this hard fought election, I have an apartment in the Chicago Spire to sell you.

Unlike two other newly elected U.S. senators, Republican Mark Kirk won't be seated in time for the start of the lame-duck session of Congress later this month.

The postelection session begins Nov. 15. But state officials say the paperwork officially declaring Kirk the winner of Illinois' Senate race won't be delivered to Washington until Nov. 29, and then the Democratic-controlled Senate would have to sign off on Kirk's admission.
​

Kirk is one of three newly elected Senators who will get to hit the seats early, the others being Chris Coons of Delaware taking the place of the esteemed Joe Biden, and Joe Manchin from West Virginia who will fill the seat vacated when Robert Byrd went to that great legislative house in the sky. Both Coons and Manchin have states who work on regular timetables, so the results of their respective elections will be certified within a reasonable time period and they'll be seated at the beginning of the Lame Duck session. Illinois, however, has an ass-backward system that depends heavily on the schedules of Democratic leaders and the collective competence of Illinois' electoral system, so results won't be certified until November 19, and the Board of Elections won't officially certify a winner until the 23rd. Then, Quinn has to sign it and send it to the Senate, who will probably get the letter on the 29th.

Mark Kirk won't be packing any bags for DC until sometime after that, maybe December 3rd. That is, of course, at the discretion of the Senate which is controlled by Democrats who might need Roland Burris's mild insanity for a few more weeks if they want to pass the last meaningful legislation of their careers. When the Administration is already admitting defeat and seeking out compromise on extending the Bush Tax Cuts, you know they're going to be desperate...

Figures. I thought that may happen but was hoping it wouldn't.

 

[The Rabbi]

President Clinton never "ran" to the center. Gingrich and the republicans closed down government and impeached him. He also "ran" as a Centrist.

President Obama..is probably a bit more on the right of Clinton. He just had a heck of a lot worse stuff to deal with..

How can you be so consistently clueless and still verbalize wants?
Clinton tried pushing health care his first term. After the GOP takeover he was forced to co opt GOP policies like welfare reform and NAFTA. Do you see Obama talking about expanding free trade? Did Obama not say he was going to renegotiate NAFTA if he was elected (and dispatched Austen Goolsby to assure the Canadians he would do no such thing)? Has Obama proposed welfare reform? Tort reform?

 

[AmericanFirst]

I believe Kirk and Manchin are seated immediately in the senate. This may prevent the scorched earth policies.

Illinois legislature is still Democrat controlled:

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk? - American Princess

Dems To Make Trouble For Mark Kirk?

Weirdly, it seems that Illinois' official process for certifying the Senator-elect will prevent Mark Kirk from taking his seat in Washington until well after the lame duck session has started. I could be outrageously outraged with outrage on this particular subject, but if you didn't expect some monkey business was in store for the Republican winner of this hard fought election, I have an apartment in the Chicago Spire to sell you.

Unlike two other newly elected U.S. senators, Republican Mark Kirk won't be seated in time for the start of the lame-duck session of Congress later this month.

The postelection session begins Nov. 15. But state officials say the paperwork officially declaring Kirk the winner of Illinois' Senate race won't be delivered to Washington until Nov. 29, and then the Democratic-controlled Senate would have to sign off on Kirk's admission.
​

Kirk is one of three newly elected Senators who will get to hit the seats early, the others being Chris Coons of Delaware taking the place of the esteemed Joe Biden, and Joe Manchin from West Virginia who will fill the seat vacated when Robert Byrd went to that great legislative house in the sky. Both Coons and Manchin have states who work on regular timetables, so the results of their respective elections will be certified within a reasonable time period and they'll be seated at the beginning of the Lame Duck session. Illinois, however, has an ass-backward system that depends heavily on the schedules of Democratic leaders and the collective competence of Illinois' electoral system, so results won't be certified until November 19, and the Board of Elections won't officially certify a winner until the 23rd. Then, Quinn has to sign it and send it to the Senate, who will probably get the letter on the 29th.

Mark Kirk won't be packing any bags for DC until sometime after that, maybe December 3rd. That is, of course, at the discretion of the Senate which is controlled by Democrats who might need Roland Burris's mild insanity for a few more weeks if they want to pass the last meaningful legislation of their careers. When the Administration is already admitting defeat and seeking out compromise on extending the Bush Tax Cuts, you know they're going to be desperate...

Figures. I thought that may happen but was hoping it wouldn't.

Typical dimwits playing political games to further their stupid agenda and prevent the will of the people. IdioTS!!!!

 

[Baruch Menachem]

The 60 odd who lost their seats will have no feelings of affection or gratitude toward the leadership that sank them so badly.

 

[shintao]

The 60 odd who lost their seats will have no feelings of affection or gratitude toward the leadership that sank them so badly.

How much is retirement again? $158,000.00 for doing nothing? $13,167.00 a month? Why wouldn't they have gratitude?

 

[bigrebnc1775]

OK, so the Dems have been flamed to a crisp. Nancy Pelosi refused to go down with the ship and is still angling for power. The biggest turnover mid term since 1938. They've got nothing to lose.
How bad will the lame duck session of this congress be? What horrors will they pass while they can? Card check? Cap n trade? Total abolition of the U.S. Constitution?
Thoughts?

Cap and trade has passed the house. it will have to go to the senate now. and it will not pass there. The democratic control Senate will not do anything stupid especially since America just showed them how angry they are.

 

[bigrebnc1775]

The 60 odd who lost their seats will have no feelings of affection or gratitude toward the leadership that sank them so badly.

How much is retirement again? $158,000.00 for doing nothing? $13,167.00 a month? Why wouldn't they have gratitude?

It ain't the money that they care about most are already rich. Its the power they lost.

 

[The Rabbi]

The 60 odd who lost their seats will have no feelings of affection or gratitude toward the leadership that sank them so badly.

How much is retirement again? $158,000.00 for doing nothing? $13,167.00 a month? Why wouldn't they have gratitude?

Um, maybe because they weren't elected by the leadership but by their districts, and because benefits are paid by the Treasury, not the leadership? Just a guess here.