General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What progressive bedrock principles are sacrosanct to President Obama? [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,979 posts)both sides have used the option almost at the same rate. But to point to McConnell's threats is just silly. Despite this whole system of government being one big house of cards that could go in any minute, any hyperbole out of the GOP becomes just that, a lot of blustery talk. There will be a flurry of nonsensical legislation that will ultimately either be blocked or vetoed, with no way to override. I.e., the continual obsession of many DUers assuming the current President will somehow allow any of the GOP's most egregious crap to come to fruition, is why their arguments lose all credibility. If anything, the GOP has the challenge of dealing with probably 1/3rd of their members who were either elected not to govern (as a protest) or with no experience in governing, and the GOP leadership will be unable to control them enough to pass legislation that the GOP establishment might need... Meaning an even worse record then the current congress.
In essence, I agree with this thought -
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If even the narrowest majorities of the House and Senate support adoption of a budget resolution, which hasnt happened since 2009, that document can order the production of legislation to tackle any and all fiscal policies. That means taxes may be increased or reduced, discretionary spending may be curbed or boosted, the debt ceiling may be raised or restricted, and all manner of mandatory or entitlement programs may be expanded, contracted or refashioned from Medicare and Medicaid to farm subsidies; from veterans benefits to school lunches.
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But thats as far as it would be guaranteed to get. The lawmakers who invented reconciliation 40 years ago, in a statute boosting the congressional role in the federal budgeting system, were powerless to take away the veto power created by the Constitution. And theres no chance that bipartisan, two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate would form to override Obamas rejection of a measure to curb entitlements or remake the tax code, for example, entirely on the GOPs terms.
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The answer will be the most consequential way in which GOP leaders reveal how theyre going to manage the fracture of their ranks thats going to continue in 2015, no matter how the coming shutdown brinkmanship over immigration plays out with the dont-give-an-inch-to-Obama confrontational conservatives on one side and the weve-got-to-prove-we-can-govern mainstream conservatives on the other.
http://blogs.rollcall.com/hawkings/budget-reconciliation-history/?dcz=