Lame Duck Congress

[cutter]

All indications are that the Democrats will lose it's majority in the house and maybe the Senate. If they do, What will they do between Nov 2na and when they give up the majority in Jan. Will they push through legislation they were afraid to bring up before the election? Will they do what's best for the country or will they push a more progressive agenda because they don't have to answer to the voters any longer? What do you think?

 

[uscitizen]

Congress has been road kill for 30 years.

 

[American Horse]

Congress has been road kill for 30 years.

Are you serious? How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution (except for the appointment of "the czars," a senate advise/consent prerogative) ?

 

[uscitizen]

Congress has been road kill for 30 years.

Are you serious? How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution (except for the appointment of "the czars," a senate advise/consent prerogative) ?

Umm 30 yeas ago our national debt was about 700 billion.
We have only even come close to a balanced budget for a couple of years during those 30 years. And the amazing thing is that was under a demoncratic president.

didn't czars start about 30 years ago as well?

 

[American Horse]

Congress has been road kill for 30 years.

Are you serious? How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution (except for the appointment of "the czars," a senate advise/consent prerogative) ?

Umm 30 yeas ago our national debt was about 700 billion.
We have only even come close to a balanced budget for a couple of years during those 30 years. And the amazing thing is that was under a demoncratic president.
didn't czars start about 30 years ago as well?

Ummmh, actually under the first Republican congress in 40 years; that is the single common denominator with a change in the budgets and being balanced.

And you may be right about the czars. I'll take your word for it.

EDIT: I would suggest that if there had been an R congress along with an R president, that the Republicans would've probably not pushed so hard for a balanced budget and the status-quo-ante would've peristed.

 

[B. Kidd]

All indications are that the Democrats will lose it's majority in the house and maybe the Senate. If they do, What will they do between Nov 2na and when they give up the majority in Jan. Will they push through legislation they were afraid to bring up before the election? Will they do what's best for the country or will they push a more progressive agenda because they don't have to answer to the voters any longer? What do you think?

Expect the following for the next two years:
Because of the presidential veto, Republicans won't be able to pass anything of importance to them like repealing Obamacare.
Dems will be too politically weakened to advance and complete Obama's broad agenda.
The country's real direction to be determined in the 2012 election.

 

[LiberalNut]

How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution

Can you say...War Powers Act?

 

[sangha]

How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution

Can you say...War Powers Act?

I don't understand the reference. The WPA expanded Congress' power. The original argument was that Congressional power has weakened

 

[shintao]

All indications are that the Democrats will lose it's majority in the house and maybe the Senate. If they do, What will they do between Nov 2na and when they give up the majority in Jan. Will they push through legislation they were afraid to bring up before the election? Will they do what's best for the country or will they push a more progressive agenda because they don't have to answer to the voters any longer? What do you think?

Somedays I would serious entertain throwing everyone of them into an incinerator.

Obama is the key after the election to use his presidential powers, but the Dems seem to lack any further agenda, which is sad. There is so much that needs to be done in the name of socialism, and Obama is out of gas.

 

[B. Kidd]

All indications are that the Democrats will lose it's majority in the house and maybe the Senate. If they do, What will they do between Nov 2na and when they give up the majority in Jan. Will they push through legislation they were afraid to bring up before the election? Will they do what's best for the country or will they push a more progressive agenda because they don't have to answer to the voters any longer? What do you think?

Somedays I would serious entertain throwing everyone of them into an incinerator.

Obama is the key after the election to use his presidential powers, but the Dems seem to lack any further agenda, which is sad. There is so much that needs to be done in the name of socialism, and Obama is out of gas.

Obama will be relegated after this election to only be able to advance his agenda through regulatory agencies. For example, using the EPA to set carbon emission limits.
And of course, the veto pen.

 

[LiberalNut]

The WPA expanded Congress' power.

Only relative to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Compared to the words of the Constitution? LOL! The framers would consider the idea of expeditionary war without a declaration of war by Congress to be a completely alien concept.

 

[LiberalNut]

Obama will be relegated after this election to only be able to advance his agenda through regulatory agencies.

Nope. Without his signature, the Bush tax cuts for the rich sunset all by themselves. The Republicans made the law this way. Then they passed it through, gasp, reconciliation!

 

[sangha]

The WPA expanded Congress' power.

Only relative to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Compared to the words of the Constitution? LOL! The framers would consider the idea of expeditionary war without a declaration of war by Congress to be a completely alien concept.

The Framers would also consider the existence of a standing army to be a completely alien concept. Given its' existence, the WPA limits the POTUS constitutional power as CIC. Therefore, it can be seen as nothing but a limit of executive power and an expansion of congressional power.

 

[B. Kidd]

Obama will be relegated after this election to only be able to advance his agenda through regulatory agencies.

Nope. Without his signature, the Bush tax cuts for the rich sunset all by themselves. The Republicans made the law this way. Then they passed it through, gasp, reconciliation!

Tax cuts expire Dec. 31st. New congressional members won't be sworn in yet. I should have specified in my above quote, "after the newly elected Congress is seated".
Do most liberals pick as many 'nits' as you?

 

[Greenbeard]

Ummmh, actually under the first Republican congress in 40 years; that is the single common denominator with a change in the budgets and being balanced.

Effects can be traced to causes and if you're looking to give Congress credit for an effect the cause is going to be one or more pieces of legislation. So, for example, if you want to look at the three major deficit-reducing budgets of the '90s (all passed using the budget reconciliation process, which is designed to make it easier for deficit-reducing legislation to get through) you can find them detailed in this CRS report. You'll see that the 5-year deficit impacts of the FY 1991 and FY 1994 laws were pegged at $482 billion and $433 billion, respectively. The Republican budget (which they decided to call the Balanced Budget Act of 1997) of note here was for FY 1998 and its 5-year deficit reduction impact was pegged at $118 billion.

Not only are the absolute numbers higher for those two big deficit-reducing budgets that came out of Democratic Congresses, they actually reduced the deficit more in each year of their first 5-year budget window than did the FY 1998 budget. In picture form that's:

In terms of the budgetary path we were put on in the 1990s, it's absurd to suggest only one party was interested in or making progress on deficit reduction. Particularly when you actually look at the deficit reduction-minded budgets that were passed.

 

[shintao]

Congress has been road kill for 30 years.

Are you serious? How is the role of congress very much changed from original delineations in the constitution (except for the appointment of "the czars," a senate advise/consent prerogative) ?

Umm 30 yeas ago our national debt was about 700 billion.
We have only even come close to a balanced budget for a couple of years during those 30 years. And the amazing thing is that was under a demoncratic president.

didn't czars start about 30 years ago as well?

How about stretch marks from 1960 hamburgers?