“The power of the purse will come heavily into play if the GOP takes the Senate in November, provided McConnell drops the current filibuster rule entirely, an action that should be easy to take now that Reid has dropped it unilaterally for approving presidential appointments.”
No question it would carry more weight, but even then it might be tough because Obama could veto the bill, and shut down the government and blame the republicans. It all depends on whether we have a few articulate republicans that can educate the public and go over the media’s head and be heard. The public needs to be turned around enough to make it consequential on the dems.
>>... it might be tough because Obama could veto the bill, and shut down the government and blame the republicans.<<
That’s exactly why the House and Senate should revert to the normal process of passing separate budget bills for each department, and even, I would argue, separate line items within many departments.
That way, they could send up appropriation bills that the vast majority of the country support, say Social Security appropriations, for example, so that even if Obama vetoed, the Dems in House and Senate would have difficulty supporting the veto.