Am I missing something here? It appears that Republicans are still in charge

[ThomWV]

How could it be that congressional Republicans were able, for 6 long years, to take a thin majority and turn it into iron-fist rule but we aren't even able to get through an opening session of Congress without them continuing to be in control of who is seated and who is not? How in hell could this be? We should be slapping them around like red-headed-stepchildren and today is the day to start doing it.

[NightWatcher]

1. but but we soo skeerd.

[Ghost in the Machine]

2. We have too many "Dry Powder Democrats"... n/t

[Brazenly Liberal]

7. Exactly

Time to light a fire under their asses and see what goes off. full protective gear recommended for anyone within the blast zone. The shit's gonna hit the....well, y'know, everything

[Javaman]

20. the power has turned to dust and has blown away. nt

[Demeter]

3. Nancy and Harry Are Still in Charge--Enough Said

[Algorem]

4. someone behind the curtains pulls the strings?

[EstimatedProphet]

5. They had a lot more than a thin majority

And they have a delegation that votes in lockstep to a person. What Repub leadership says, Repubs do, period. They're effectively robots.

[donco6]

15. You say "robot", I say "disciplined"

Why can't we expect our side to be able to rally their own troops? What's the point of having a party? Are we just a herd of cats? Do we not agree on a platform? Can we not expect our party members to vote in alignment with the platform?

I don't see anything wrong with knocking some heads together when they need it.

[Romulox]

6. It's like "good cop/bad cop" writ large. Republicans are merely the excuse.

[luckyleftyme2]

8. ARE YOU GOING TO GET BONED

Are we gonna let MITCH THE BITCH or JOHN THE BONER continue to bone us doing the
will of big business? 40% of the bail out package is going to be tax relief; not just for you and me but for business. HEY we need 39.9% for us and 0.10% for business. We need to get all over this. In the last 30 years big business has shifted over 50% of the taxes to the working class. Wake up call your representatives tell them we put you there and we can take you out.

DON'T GET BONED BY THE RIGHT!

[Brazenly Liberal]

9. Don't forget how liberally Bush used/threatened to use the veto power

For all 8 of his years in power, the veto was a major tool for this, erm, major tool. It does no good to have a majority, thin or thick, if you still can't get the legislation you pass signed into law. In many cases, the congressional dems gave up because whatever they tried to get done was doomed to be vetoed.

If I were in Pelosi/Reid's position, I would have held that up to the light much more clearly and loudly than they ever did. I would have put the issues to a vote every time and if/when the legislation was vetoed, I would have been on the news every freaking night reminding the American public which issues we tried to resolve that day but were blocked by the obstructionist White House. But what do I know?

[KharmaTrain]

10. The New Congress Already Began?

Actually the Congressional Repugnicans have been all but defanged...meaning repugnicans in the House. New rules will be passed today that are sure to make Boner cry...cause that's about all his party will be able to do. Pelosi will have a strong enough majority to push through a lot of legislation. Actually, if anyone was watching, that happened in the last Congress...I had a long list of things passed in the House that died in the Senate or was vetoed.

The game changers haven't hit yet. Today a real Democratic majority takes over in the Senate...gone are the byzantine rules that were arranged that made Reid majority leader and let's see how bills move not only with at least 55 or more Democrats ready to pass through legislation, but endangered repugnicans like a Voinovich or Gregg or Snowe or Specter who will be tempted to jump the fence rather than go off the political cliff with the wingnuts that are left in the GOOP.

One more factor...the power of the executive. The veto is on our side...so is the agenda. While the GOOP can obstruct, they do so at their own peril. The "slim majority" was helped as it became a supermajority (67 votes are needed to over-ride a veto) whenever boooshie either vetoed a bill or threatened to. With the country so screwed up, anyone standing in the way of fixing problems will pay a price.

Some repugnicans do need to be slapped around. But some will be needed to push through a laundry list of bills that will help fix the economy, bring troops home and restore some sanity to the government. People voted for change last November...but not to go from one political extreme to another.

[Champion Jack]

13. Well said

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

18. Passed in House, died in Senate-and vice-versa- is the oldest trick in the book.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Don't They Call That "Balanced Government"??

The old corporate meme of how the country works best when there's one party in the White House and another in the legislative. Yeah, right!

We haven't had a Democratic majority of this size since the 70's and I'll be curious to see the tricks that are played by McConnell...and, of course, how weak Reid is in responding.

The key will be the power of the Executive. President Obama is surrounding himself with people who know the ropes and have no compunction of walking over Reid to get things passed.

Cheers...

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. I don't understand either.

I'd hold out my hand across the aisle and kick them in the nuts at the same time.I don't know what they are doing. Maybe Obama has let it be known he wants to try the famous bipartisanship. They will eat him alive and photo-op him to death.

McConnell and Cantor were on tv proclaiming that they had help force Obama to include more tax cuts. Cantor was grinning away. Obama can say that he always talked about middle class tax cuts, but the Rethugs will get away with looking like they are in charge.

Obama came out of Chicago. He is no naif when it comes to politics although you wonder now. I want to see what happens after 1/20/09. Maybe he plans to turn the tables on them after that.

[Le Taz Hot]

12. When you come to the understanding that they're

all feeding off the same teet, it makes sense.

[ThomWV]

14. 6 tits, 7 puppies

You see it all the time, when there are 6 tits and 7 puppies the weak ones get pushed aside of necessity. Republicans re the weak ones now, but they are not being pushed aside. Very odd.

[Le Taz Hot]

16. Actually,

I would say WE are the 7th puppy. The Republicans aren't going anywhere, they're useful idiots, just as the Democrats are. Remember, the demise of the Republican party was a "certainty" after Nixon resigned. Six years later we had a Republican president.

[acmavm]

17. Nah, you're hitting on all cylinders.