Posted on 01/21/2013 6:41:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The simplest statements sometimes are the most insightful. For an example, consider this one on Wednesday from Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, in reaction to President Obama's gun-control proposals: "I would welcome the opportunity to debate these issues on the floor of the Senate, and would encourage Majority Leader [Harry] Reid to schedule a full and open debate."
In these seemingly innocuous words are a key to GOP revival. What may be the most overlooked story of the past two years is how Harry Reid has subverted the democratic process, successfully allowing him to both protect his party and keep the focus on Republicans. If the GOP wants to start winning a few battles, this dynamic has to change.
The Founders created a legislative process that was deliberately different from the parliamentary systems of Europe. In the "regular order" of things, the House works its will. The Senate works its will. Those two bodies meet in conference. The president may then sign or veto the resulting legislation.
In Mr. Reid's Washington, the House works its will, the Senate does crossword puzzles. Its committees do not produce bills, its senators do not debate or amend, the body does not vote. The House, to accomplish anything, is forced to engage in backroom wrangling with the White House, the results of which are presented to the nation as a fait accompli. The Senate claims total deniability.
Mr. Reid's Senate has not produced a budget in three years. The majority leader rarely moves on a bill, and when he does, he uses tricks to block senators from amending legislation, or he shuts down debate in such a way as to kill legislation. Regular order and conference reports are nearly nonexistent.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Dingy’s probably off trying to “clean up” the allegations he facing.....
Here’s the Democratic strategy:
Reid will not offer a bill during the fiscal-cliff negotiations because many Democrats disagreed with their president’s proposed tax hikes.
He has not produced a budget because to do so would expose the Democrat’s real spending ambitions, which would create political problems back home for his members.
Reid knows there is a brilliant added bonus to making sure the Senate is inactive: It keeps all the attention on Republicans.
The lamestream press is by now so used to Senate nothingness that reporters automatically turn every spotlight on the House.
This allows the White House and Democrats to avoid ownership of problems that they have created by casting Republicans as the cause of every legislative crisis and as the barrier to solutions. It also keeps the focus on divisions within the GOP.
An example of how this works: Tax bills must originate in the House, so the GOP in August dutifully passed legislation to avert the fiscal cliff by extending rates for one year. With regular order, the Senate would have taken this up, amended it and gone to conference. No crisis.
But Reid didn’t want his members to have to vote on a bill that either undercuts Obama or undercuts their own re-election prospects—so he did NOTHING.
As the clock ticked down to the expiration of the Bush tax rates, the White House (and the press) then claimed it was incumbent on the GOP to either cut a deal directly with the administration or be held responsible for tax hikes on everyone.
Obama then sits back to enjoy a public GOP brawl over its tax strategy, followed by his tax victory. Nowhere was it noted that the entire breakdown of the process—the entire reason for the crisis—rested on Reid’s refusal to act.
And since all the spotlight is on the Republican controlled house VOILA! -— GUESS WHO GETS ALL THE BLAME?
Here’s the Democratic strategy:
Reid will not offer a bill during the fiscal-cliff negotiations because many Democrats disagreed with their president’s proposed tax hikes.
He has not produced a budget because to do so would expose the Democrat’s real spending ambitions, which would create political problems back home for his members.
Reid knows there is a brilliant added bonus to making sure the Senate is inactive: It keeps all the attention on Republicans.
The lamestream press is by now so used to Senate nothingness that reporters automatically turn every spotlight on the House.
This allows the White House and Democrats to avoid ownership of problems that they have created by casting Republicans as the cause of every legislative crisis and as the barrier to solutions. It also keeps the focus on divisions within the GOP.
An example of how this works: Tax bills must originate in the House, so the GOP in August dutifully passed legislation to avert the fiscal cliff by extending rates for one year. With regular order, the Senate would have taken this up, amended it and gone to conference. No crisis.
But Reid didn’t want his members to have to vote on a bill that either undercuts Obama or undercuts their own re-election prospects—so he did NOTHING.
As the clock ticked down to the expiration of the Bush tax rates, the White House (and the press) then claimed it was incumbent on the GOP to either cut a deal directly with the administration or be held responsible for tax hikes on everyone.
Obama then sits back to enjoy a public GOP brawl over its tax strategy, followed by his tax victory. Nowhere was it noted that the entire breakdown of the process—the entire reason for the crisis—rested on Reid’s refusal to act.
And since all the spotlight is on the Republican controlled house, VOILA! -— GUESS WHO GETS ALL THE BLAME?
When the Republicans start to label the Democrats in the Senate as hard core communists lead by their communists leader Reid, then nothing can be done. The GOP never learned how to fight down and dirty and hard. If this label will stick with those Democrats maybe reelection will not happen. Each State has to start the momentum.
Its why McConeel went around Reid and to Biden in the first place. The man cannot be reasoned with. He’s been back-burnered and rightfully so. They think they are going to split the R party...and they may be right to an extent. But there’s plenty of bad blood on their side to foment as well. Don’t pay attention to the media that tries to say otherwise.
I’ve got news for the dems, the next 4 years are not going to be better than the last 4 years. And after 8 years of stagnation and high unemployment, change will come.
RE: And after 8 years of stagnation and high unemployment, change will come.
After 8 years of growing number of people getting used to dependency, we might have reached a point where change will be politically, almost impossible to achieve.
Harry Reid has been working his damnedest to keep Dems off the record on as many issues as possible. That way incumbent Dems can pretend to be whatever they want to be on the campaign trail. Pubbie Senate challengers MUST find an effective way to attach the Dem to Reid, his Nevada self dealing and his dictatorial leadership over the Senate.
He did his dirty work on the tax standoff, standing on the Senate Floor everyday during Christmas break blaming Bohner for wanting to blow up the economy.
I hope Rs put him on the defensive for a change.
Indeed so much for his back room profits
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