100 Hours: Dems say the blitz is ON!

[shraby]

EZ Writer has this posted on dailykos..a preview of a wapo story coming out soon:

Democrats plan to take no prisoners in their first 100 hours, according to the Washington Post (not online yet):

Instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Nov. 7 Democratic victory, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing the Democrats to trumpet early victories.

Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who will become House speaker, and Steny Hoyer, the Marylander who will become majority leader, finalized the strategy in a flurry of conference calls and meetings with other party leaders over the holiday recess. A few Democrats, worried that the party would be criticized for reneging on an important pledge, argued unsuccessfully that they should grant the Republicans greater latitude when the Congress convenes on Thursday.

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<http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/1/19242/85878>

[Sherman A1]

1. Okay

Here we go........

[USA_1]

46. Let's hope it's true and ...

that the Dems will make political capital out of it.

[Sherman A1]

62. Oh, I like that....

Making Political Capital at the Capitol..... nice ring to it!

[AX10]

2. kick

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. What's good for the goose....

is good for the gander. The GOP set the precident. But I do hope that they give the repukes a little more latitude later on, if only for bipartisanship sake. We'll need repuke votes to impeach Bush and Cheney.

[raysr]

58. Bipartisan, with this crew?

are you serious?????

[valerief]

4. Woo hoo! And away we go! nt

[4nic8em]

5. I hope this is true...

let us reap the benefits of "repuglican bipartisanship".

[JI7]

6. anyone know what date the new session will start ?

[Dr.Phool]

9. This Thursday, Jan. 4th

[Xipe Totec]

7. If the pugs had anything good to offer,

they should have done it before November 2006.

It's time for them to siddown and shadap.

[marmar]

13. Agreed.

They've done nothing but destroy the country for the last however many years (feels like about 20), so it's time to put the adults back in charge.

[liberal N proud]

8. Someone has to clean up this mess.

[GrantDem]

10. Awwwwww

House Republicans have begun to complain that Democrats are backing away from their promise to work cooperatively.

:nopity: :nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity:

[cali]

15. Yeah, ain't it sad? That said, it was a stupid

pledge to make in the first place.

[Lasher]

17. Too bad, so sad.

Republicans can't tell if we're working cooperatively or not. They don't know how it's done. They think cooperation is when Democrats agree to do what they want.

We didn't promise Congressional Republicans anything. That's between us and the voters. If they want to talk about fairness then I would like to know if they think it's unfair for them to live even temporarily by the same rules they themselves enforced on us over the last 6 years. And if they want to talk about keeping promises maybe we should start off by asking them what happened to all those jobs that they promised the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would create.

This is probably a good thing to get through the first 100 hours, then we can lighten up if the minority party behaves its self.

[GrantDem]

18. Very well put n/t

[pennylane100]

24. Wow, it seems to upset republicans when someone breaks their word.

You would think they would be use to it by now. Oh, I see, its only bad when they are on the loosing end of an agreement.

[Lasher]

33. Something I have found in life:

The one who gets more upset than anyone else when they think they are being cheated is the cheater.

[WinkyDink]

40. What UPSETS them is not getting their way. Is Democrats showing spine.

Is the possibility that the rich might not get the widow's mite.

[jazzjunkysue]

50. I love how dems are weak on defence but ogres in the senate....

I wish they'd make up their minds: Are we tough or soft? Which is it?

[guruoo]

55. Remember: "Bipartisanship is....

another name for date rape."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/bivens_outrage?pid=699

[4nic8em]

11. House Speaker Nancy

should be just as cooperative as those in the republic party have been these last six years...goes around, comes around...

[don954]

12. they ran over us for 12 years.

The next congressional 100 hours are ours, we earned them the hard way.

[bdamomma]

71. and not voting for any bill that was initiated by the Dems

this should be payback time for the repigs. enough is enough.

[Kagemusha]

14. It's reassuring the wimps were told to behave.

The Republicans weren't planning on being cordial anyway and said so to anyone who'd listen, promising to take advantage of those naive, soft, foolish Democrats who didn't know how to govern, and would have that fact demonstrated to the public through gridlock and despair. The proper response is a bloody nose.

[Cleita]

16. It's going to be a Happy New Year after all!

:woohoo::bounce::toast::party::beer:

[tridim]

19. I just got goosebumps reading that!

How are the Republics going to react? Will they roll over, or filibuster and further damage their party?

[rodeodance]

20. and Let the Investigations BEGIN.

[Warren Stupidity]

21. Good.

Show some spine. There is no collegial bipartisanship on the other side, they are busy laying mines and setting up booby traps.

[Imagevision]

43. K&R!!!

[caligirl]

22. An ad in every repug hometown paper that refuses to go along with

the ethics leg. and implementation of the 9/11 panel recommendations would just p'ss off the GOP but it sure would give them a taste of their own medicine.

[welshTerrier2]

23. i can't support locking out republicans

yes, i understand the spirit that the bastards did it to us so let's do the same to them ... and no, they do NOT DESERVE better treatment ...

but i look at this in terms of a healthy, functioning democracy ... ask yourself this: do we support a tyranny of the majority? should we allow whichever party is in power to have absolute control? in that case, the opposition party might as well stay home until the next election ...

what i see here is not the disenfranchising of republicans in the House but rather the disenfranchising of the voters who supported them ... it seems hard to make a case for a tyranny of the majority ... we should be better than that ...

in fact, i'd like to see the power to call hearings and subpoena power extended to the minority so that they can be more effective in providing "oppositional oversight" of the party in power ... we need to think beyond simple revenge to what we want to see as good governance ...

[derby378]

28. They won't be locked out forever, though...

...just long enough to hopefully learn that you don't screw with the democratic process without it coming back to bite you in the ass. This is political karma coming full circle.

[Jackpine Radical]

30. Do you also advocate bringing brass knuckles

to a gun fight?

[welshTerrier2]

32. protecting the rights of the minority

i guess if you look at the process of democracy as a gun fight, you're likely to look at a position supporting minority rights as weakness ... no one is saying Democrats need to be spineless and let the republicans run the show; we're in the majority now and should aggressively pursue our agenda ... but part of that agenda should be to build a better government by building in stronger support for minority party oversight of the party in power ...

i don't know about you but i thought it was outrageous that, as the minority party, Democrats couldn't convene hearings or subpoena witnesses ... in my democracy, that would not be the case ... how about yours?

this isn't about bringing brass knuckles to a gun fight; it's about understanding that we are likely to be in the minority again someday and it might be useful to put some rules in place now to protect our interests then ... what's happened over the last few years should never be allowed to happen again ...

[Jackpine Radical]

70. It isn't us who turned this into a gunfight.

If we let the Republicans pull this crap on us and then just go along behaving as if nothing had happened, then when they get back in power they will do the same old shit to us. Back to the Dems meeting in the coal celler. The only way we can make meaningful changes and make those changes stick is to give them a dose of their own medicine so that they are the ones calling for changes in the rules. Make 'em squeal anc cry Uncle. Otherwise all we will have proved is that every time they get in power we'll knuckle under, and when we get the power back there will be no consequences for their previous bad behavior.

[Cobalt-60]

64. Never leave home without it!

Make no mistake about the people we're dealing with.
They're a bunch of criminal low blow artists backed by Big Business and Old Money.
They showed us what they were made of when they passed the rules we're about to use on them.
They've openly stated their intention to destroy our party.
They should consider themselves lucky to be even allowed into the room.

[kestrel91316]

34. A measly 100 hours of being shut out won't kill them. We have been

shut out for TWELVE YEARS.

[welshTerrier2]

36. good government should be Job One - it's the message we're sending to the public

while 100 hours is certainly not 12 years, i had hoped that JOB ONE for the new majority party would have been to send a strong signal that democracy comes FIRST ... i guess the Dems are more interested in flexing their muscles and getting a little payback ...

btw, i've thought all this warm and fuzzy bi-partisan spirit was crap ... i'm not calling for rolling over and compromising our values ... but the values i hold most dear are to protect our democracy and make the reforms we need ... after looking at what the republicans did to minority party rights in the Congress, it seems to me we have an obligation to set things straight ...

[kestrel91316]

77. I like the message that flexing our Dem muscles sends.

Nancy will be nice and pleasant, but firm, about it. Good on her.

[Joe Chi Minh]

78. The public will be four-square behind them. You don't seem to understand.

Quite apart from anything else, bullies only understand the mailed fist, because it's their own preferred method of persuasion.

And if you don't give them a taste of it, or at least a convincing promise of it, not only does their abuse get worse, but they become increasingly resentful of you.

Why? Because they are like children exploring boundaries, and they will continue to feel uneasy until they're shown them, because unlike many liberals, they instinctively know that they must exist. And even that they need them.

It's all too easy for these types of Republicans to interpret decency and goodwill for weakness. Not only that, but there is too much to get done too soon, to make nice with them straight away. And that too is their own fault. Magnanimity would be not only an undeserved, but an unappreciated, indulgence. "Democrats just being what they are: wusses!", would be their take on it.

[guruoo]

51. IMHO, Public support will depend more on what Democrats accomplish,

than what means they use to acomplish it.

If successful, ethics reform will be a big hit with the majority
of voters. Especiall the part where the corrupt Repugs are seen being dragged
along kicking and screaming all the way!

[nolabels]

53. Don't get so up tite about it already

Congress has to pass the bills to *, but * will just refuse to sign any of them anyway. It's just a set up for * to take a fall just a little faster. Besides did you really think even a minority of Republicans would go in on anything with bipartisan basis. The republicans know their best hope is gridlock in the congress.

[Warren Stupidity]

65. Sorry wrong.

They started this fight. Until they have established that they can be trusted we would be fools to trust them. Pelosi is taking exactly the right position here: first we push through the legislative initiatives that they blocked from any consideration for the last six years without any interference from the untrustworthy opposition party, then we consider what fair rules ought to be established. They have to earn our trust. They should not be given the opportunity, right out of the starting gate, to continue to block Democratic legislation.

[Little Wing]

75. I can

A functioning democracy requires the locking out of Republicans. Yes I'm aware of the irony and dissonance in that statement.

They broke it, letting them help fix it is just reckless.

[Morgana LaFey]

25. Hmmm, THIS I have to see.

It would be something to behold, but I wonder if she'll cave under pressure? She has never struck me a the most tenacious of people.

[guruoo]

26. Related: Democrats look for quick victories in new Congress

Democrats look for quick victories in new Congress
By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer

<snip)

Before President Bush arrives on Capitol Hill on Jan. 23 for his State of the Union address, House Democrats intend to update ethics rules, raise the minimum wage, implement 9/11 Commission recommendations, cut subsidies to the oil industry, promote stem cell research and make college educations and prescription drugs more affordable.

"Democrats are prepared to govern and ready to lead," said Pelosi, a Californian.

On the first day back, Democrats plan to change House rules on what members can accept from lobbyists. On the second day they'll vote on other rules changes requiring that new spending or tax cuts be paid for and that pet projects tucked into larger bills be publicly disclosed.

The new Democratic Senate, under Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, will take a parallel if somewhat more leisurely track.

The first week or week-and-a-half of business will be devoted to ethics and lobbying reform that stalled in the last Congress, including a proposal to ban lawmakers from accepting gifts and travel from lobbyists and one making it more difficult for former members who become lobbyists to solicit their former colleagues.

<snip>

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KY_DEMOCRATIC_CONGRESS_KYOL-?SITE=TNCLA&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[TomClash]

27. GOOD - now it's their turn to go to hell nt

[caligirl]

29. Just from reading the diary in daily kos for this, most of thei stuff

was already discussed by repugs and I am sure they did their best to keep dems out of discussions and decisions on rules for this.

[Raine]

31. GOOD...

our side is being as fair to them as they were to us! :evilgrin: :rofl:

[CatWoman]

35. i think this is the wp story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070101/ap_on_go_co/democratic_congress

[w13rd0]

37. Sorry GOP...

...but we've said "Impeachment is off the table", so you should be happy that criminal prosecutions won't follow until AFTER investigations. Sit down and shut the F'k up...

[Gregorian]

38. A dozen totally wasted years come to an end.

Damn the republicans. It's time for a jump start. A shot of antibiotics. A Congressional enema.

I'll believe it when I see it. But is sure sounds good!


Three cheers for the fist ever female Speaker!!!!!

[ananda]

39. Finally at last!

nt

[ShaneGR]

41. This is a bad move....

It presents the image that electing democrats is no different than electing Republicans. Either side will simply stomp on the other to achieve their goals, disenfranchising the millions of voters who supported the current minority.

Not to mention that we promised things would be different.

If it's just a shortterm measure, fine, but I don't want to see two years of us acting like they acted.

[Cleita]

42. You can predict the future? n/t

[ShaneGR]

44. No, didn't say I could... NT

[Clarkie1]

60. I completely agree with you.

Americans are hoping for better from Democrats. We ought to be the Party of civil discourse. We can allow everyone to have a voice without compromising our principles. That would be a sign of strength, not weakness.

[Warren Stupidity]

67. You cannot have civil discourse in one direction. nt.

[Warren Stupidity]

66. Nobody is disenfranchised.

Every voter retains his or her vote. All this means is that the minority party is not going to be able to block the initial set of bills considered by the house. The minority party in the house has no legislative rights other than the right to vote for or against bills under consideration.

[neoblues]

45. Hope it's Shock and Awe...

not Shucks and Awww... That is, I hope we really do kick some ass as soon as possible; slam through a few serious changes; and hopefully change course before we've left the ground (as we are headed for the cliff) and the steering no longer has any effect. That, rather than just making a few noises and working for the sake of appearance...

I only say this because my faith in our political leadership isn't really very strong; I'm afraid most of them are just "politicians", in the negative sense, once you get beneath the skin. Of course, I withhold judgement and will both hope and do whatever I can to help ensure the process bears fruit (which is probably next to nothing**). Anticipation... is making us wait.

**Edwards is saying we have the power; I know we must, but somehow it seems most of us don't know what to do (and if he provided suggestions, I haven't yet heard them).

[Imagevision]

47. Let's get oversight re-installed ASAP also!!!

[bdamomma]

73. we have no checks or balances since this crime family got in

how about bushie signing statements, do the Dems have a handle on that?

[dennis00]

48. Read the last graf

Republicans strategy is to break the democrat's slender majority by wooing away some conservative democrats. Would that be Lieberman's strategy? The f...ing repubs can't quit being assholes can they? They have locked out the democrats for six years and are crying about being locked out themselves for 100 hours and strategizing about how to defy the will the majority of the voting public by stealing some weak democrats. FIE on their king of the hill game. They deserve to be locked for the last two years of the Bush regime and as long thereafter as the democrats hold the majority. We don't need schoolyard bullys in Congress.

[caligirl]

49. Repugs wanting to distance themselves from Bush and the past 6 years

would be smart to join the dems in changing some rules without a fuss. Acleaner gov't is the first priority.

[nealmhughes]

52. EPA, DOI, and energy are all on the agenda ASAP I've heard.

The Progressive Caucus in the House is set to address all these three beyond what has already been noted here.

Barbara Lee wants to come out swinging.

[XOKCowboy]

54. Good. For some reason I feel vengeful...

It could be the trivialization of 3000 US Soldiers dead. It could be the sanctimonious way the Repugs are now calling for bipartisan this and cooperation that. It could be talk of "The Surge" and escalation by the Supreme Idiot.

To heck with cooperation. They had their chance and locked us completely out of the process and called us traitors for questioning their agenda. Their agenda was soundly rebuked in the last election so you go Nancy.

I can't wait for the next couple of weeks. It's our turn. Let's show them how to run a country.

[SaneInSC]

56. Common Sense

There are a whole lot of what I would call "common sense" issues that we need to fix immediately; you know, stuff like repairing and restoring the constitution... and maybe rolling back the taxes schemes foisted on those least able to afford it so that the wealthy can earn their 78th and 79th million dollar that year..negotiating for drug prices, etc..etc.etc. I welcome participation from whomever is willing to act like an adult with common sense.

If not, then screw em! They are no better than a common criminal..actually much much worse, as the common criminal usually isn't screwing over millions of people at a time.

Things have gone soooo obviously wrong in the past 7+ years that it will make our job of voting them out(R's or D's or whomever) much easier in '08. This should be quite a show. Let's hope we've learned.

[bdamomma]

74. I would love to see those lobbyists and those CEO's

of oil corporations get their just due, but we still have Cheney in the shadows and Rove, it is time for them to be on the ropes for a change.

[reformedrepub]

57. What is this???

Have the Dems found their spines?? THANK GOD!!!!

[raysr]

59. These repukes need to

be thrown to the floor and kicked until blood comes out their mouths. Bipartisan, jeeesus.

[Skittles]

61. I AGREE

F*** playing nice with these lying, thieving, incompetent BASTARDS.

[malaise]

63. Please tell them to stay alive n/t

[Mad_Dem_X]

68. Whoo-hoo!

Payback is a biotch! :bounce: :kick:

[Bitwit1234]

69. You know what dems have to do...

Remember this from Independence Day....it stands for all of us.

WE HAVE TO KICK THE TIRES......(CORRUPTION IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY)
AND LIGHT THE FIRES............(BRING BACK OUR AMERICANS SENSE OF PRIDE)

[spanone]

72. Dear Dems, don't forget that pesky war in Iraq that got ya'll elected.

I think ol Junior is waiting and hoping that the dems show their cards first on Iraq.

Fund the withdrawal, but not the war.

[mmonk]

76. Won't completely work without

truthful revelations about the abuses of power that have transpired. The media can always attack legislation and use spin. The truth is harder for them to spin.

[MasonJar]

79. Let's see...hmmm...is this the same GOP that didn't let the Dems

who represented almost 1/2 the country participate in decisions and made John Conyers use the basement of another building and called the police on dems and kept the 15 minute vote open until they had strong-armed their fellow pukes into voting the way Tom Delay wanted while simultaneously going on illegal trips with Jack and not investigating their idiot boy-king for anything no matter how heinous the crime and calling young pages via e-mail? Yeah, I thought so. Well, cry me a river.