Back to Deadlock

[babylonsister]

Back to Deadlock

Come next January, the great American impasse will be back in all its toxic splendor.

Paul Starr | October 11, 2010



President Obama calls on Senate Republicans to stop filibustering campaign-finance legislation, July 2010 (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

snip//

Many who voted for Obama now express disappointment with what he's done. It's fair to be disappointed; unemployment is far too high. But the problems are systemic and institutional. The impact of the financial crisis was bound to last for years, and more aggressive policies to combat the recession could never have reached the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. It was practically a miracle that health-care reform achieved that level of support, considering that it required the votes of Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson. And if you want to get mad about the deals made to pass that legislation, get mad at the institutional obstacles that made those deals necessary -- and thank Harry Reid (along with Nancy Pelosi) for finally breaking an impasse that has lasted for decades and allowed the number of uninsured to grow to more than 50 million.

The Senate Democratic caucus had its 60-vote majority -- the first since the late 1970s and the last until God knows when -- for not quite half a year between the seating of Al Franken in July 2009 and the election of Scott Brown the next January. Ever since, except for the necessarily compromised financial-regulation bill, major initiatives have been buried in that quiet cemetery known as the Senate chamber.

Come next January, the great American impasse will be back in all its toxic splendor, and far from being an unusual result, this will be in keeping with what has become the standard pattern. Recent presidents have made their mark on domestic policy in their first two years. The midterm elections are almost always a setback for their party, at which point the window for major initiatives has closed.

Unfortunately for Democrats, this pattern has more damaging consequences for them than it does for Republicans. Democrats need a government capable of social, economic, and environmental remedy, but except for cutting taxes and gutting social outlay and regulation, Republican presidents are often content to do little domestically and to turn their attention to foreign affairs.

We desperately need systemic reforms -- an end to the Senate filibuster and a four-year term for members of the House to coincide with presidential terms to give us a government that can perform year in, year out, instead of being periodically incapacitated.

more...

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=back_to_deadlock

[uponit7771]

1. Harry Reid needs to change senate rules and limit the amount of filibusters and then take that for..

...dems too

[denimgirly]

2. Also need Campaign Finance Reform.

Good read btw.