Any predictions/hopes/fears for the new House?

Loricat · Graduate Student Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 446 Gender:

Rumsfield, exit stage left. Always a good start.

Your Canadian neighbours are curious (at least this one is!)...what do you think will (or won't) change with the results of the midterm elections? What do you hope for? What do you fear?

I thank you. My curiosity thanks you.

"All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds."

Loricat's Book Nook
Celebrating the Absurd

Mr. Pessimistic

Rick Santorum is gone too...dont forget that!

I am just satisfied that there will be checks and balances again.

There will be no magical solutions, and I am sure Bush will still try to strongarm everyone...but now it may just not work all the time.

I hope that both parties (and independents) can realize finally that there needs to be a new direction totally and leave the past party politics behind. The country is too complex for far left or right positions.

Bush and Republican control has been a blight the past 6 years.

Mr. P.

Mr. P's place. I warned you!!!

Mr. P's Bookshelf.

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

phiend · Almost a regular Joined: 06 Oct 2006 Posts: 32 Gender:

In my opinion I don’t think much is going to change right away. The democrats won, but they know they won because the Republicans really messed up. They know that in 2 years the more important election will take place and the swing voters that gave them this election are fickle followers. If they do to much they will lose those voters back to the Republican Party, voter memory only spans about a year or so.

scrumfish · Intern Joined: 05 Mar 2004 Posts: 197 Gender:

Time to prove my psychic abilities!

I predict that I spend the next 2 years bitching about Democrats instead of Republicans.

I love being an Independent voter. ::04

Other than that, I don't really know what the Democrats plan is for Iraq. I know that the military people (the actually military people, not the civilians that are appointed to be in charge) have been saying since before the invasion that they need more people in Iraq, so I predict there will be more soldiers sent over before they start coming home. I also predict that secret prisons and torture will persist under the newly nominated Robert Gates, although with more distance put between the U.S. and the actions. Mr. Gates, of course, will only be the overseer if he is more successful than he was during his last nomination by the other Bush when his small connection to the Iran Contra affair was fresher in the memory of Congress. Even with these nagging doubts, I am positive that he will be better than Rumsfeld.

I predict that health care will be talked about a lot, but it will be left to Wal-Mart and the $4 generic prescriptions to be solved.

I predict that many token measures about the environment and alternate fuels will be passed and Americans will continue to drive everywhere with one person in a car. They will feel better about themselves, though, because they will have gotten a nice tax break on a vehicle that gets 5 more miles to the gallon than their old one.

I predict more states will legalize same-sex marriages.

By now I must sound like a miserable sod, but really I am quite pleased. That just doesn't mean I'm going to quit writing my congresspeople for the next 2 years. I also agree with Mr. P.....I am thrilled that Santorum lost. Everything else is icing.

I am a bit worried about myself, though. I thought I could be a bit more gracious when put in a situation like this, but I have been fighting the urge to send an email to my dear, Republican, Father with only the words Lame Duck in it. Does that make me a bad person?

Edited by: scrumfish at: 11/9/06 4:33 pm

irishrosem · Doctorate Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 536 Gender:

Mr.P.:

Quote:
Rick Santorum is gone too...dont forget that!

We’re dancing in the streets here in Philly. It’s hard to beat out Pennsyltucky (that part of Pennsylvania between Philly and Pittsburgh) sometimes, but Santorum lost by 18%. Did you see his concession speech? I felt bad for his little girl who was crying on stage, but I feel worse she’s being raised by such a hateful, regressive father.

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I am just satisfied that there will be checks and balances again.

I too am happy to see the checks and balances restored. With that in mind, considering the 2008 presidential election, and the fact that the Republicans will have more seats to defend in Congress than the Dems, it could very well turn into an all Dem White House and Congress. After six years under the current system, I know that it shouldn’t bother me, especially considering that many of the recently elected Democrats are middle-of-the-road. But the healthiest ideal for the U.S. government is the checks and balances. I guess we shall see.

Loricat:

I’m going to sum up what I’ve seen among my friends, family and coworkers and give you some theories on what I think might happen in the upcoming and pivotal two years. Most of my time reading about politics is spent on primary sources. I read a lot of transcripts, research political platforms and keep track of bills that are being pushed. So my thoughts are not indicative of what professional political theorists are talking about. Essentially, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that I know anything, this is more of a personal interest hobby for me.

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Rumsfield, exit stage left. Always a good start.

First, the Rumsfeld resignation was viewed around here like a cherry on top of a sundae (well I don’t really like cherries or sundaes, so it was more like crunched up butterfinger on top of vanilla ice cream for me). I think it’s good, if we plan on charting a new course in Iraq, to get new leadership involved with that. As you may or may not recall, there have been questions about Rumsfeld’s abilities since 2001, then 9/11 happened and his critics were silenced for a while. But the last year especially, they’ve been rehashing the same issues. I find it curious, if Rumsfeld was seriously considering resigning, why it didn’t happen a few weeks before the elections. I think if it had, Republicans may have been able to hold on to at least one of those closely contested Senate seats and essentially kept the Senate. Many voters, even Bush supporters, have become disillusioned with the war in Iraq. Bush has recently stated that if there need to be a changes to policies in Iraq, he was open to them. The “stay the course” slogan has been dropped. I think if he had sent a strong message that he was making efforts for positive change, he could have held onto some key votes. Rumsfeld’s resignation could have been that message. I don’t think Rumsfeld’s resignation was entirely due to the election results; he must have been seriously considering resignation, had offered it before to Bush, and yet resigned the day after the elections. I just can’t figure it out. I ran it by a friend of mine, and he feels it’s indicative of the way the Republican Party is faltering. They no longer seem to be the proactive party.

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…what do you think will (or won't) change with the results of the midterm elections?

Well I think the most important change will be a little more honesty within the House. Nancy Pelosi, the future first female Speaker of the House (I have to admit that made me a bit misty-eyed), has declared that she wants to get the House out of the swamp, she feels that government has been too secretive, and has pledged that the House will be more open.

I also think there will be a push for the people-pleasing bills that are unlikely to be vetoed. I am predicting that one of the first issues will be a raise in minimum wage. It’s been talked about for a long time now, it’s been a part of the Democratic agenda and it is something Bush can easily get behind, without losing face. To be honest, I don’t know why it hasn’t yet been addressed. I think we’ve also pretty much seen the end of the threat of privatizing social security. I also think it likely (even easier actually) that Bush will be able to push through the rest of his immigration bill, dealing with working permits or vouchers, I forget what he called them.

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What do you hope for?

I truly hope that the Democrats really do reach across the aisle. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen solid legislative progress in D.C. and it’s time to get things going. I hope Bush does not spend the next two years vetoing legislation b/c they just don’t have the seats to override a veto. Likewise, I also hope Democrats do not squander this opportunity with revenge tactics. Some investigations into the administration are likely to happen, especially dealing with spending in Iraq, but if Democrats spend the next two years trying to “get Bush,” it will backfire on them. Which takes me to,

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What do you fear?

I think most Democrats are fearful of backfire. There is a huge mess both nationally and internationally that needs to be cleaned up. Two years is a short time for these issues to be addressed, and they need to be addressed with a President who may be oppositional. It really all could backfire on them.

I think it important for Democrats to focus on their bread and butter issues. There’s a reason blue collar workers from Pennsylvania to Texas to Washington are voting Republican. Democrats haven’t really addressed the “everyman” issues that used to largely be their agenda. In response, Republicans have been scooping these voters up with scare tactics based around moral issues such as gay marriage, abortion, stem cell, and, less so, social issues such as immigration and capital punishment. If you look at the 2004 election, Kerry wins with Ohio, which likely went red because of the gay marriage push that occurred just prior to the elections.

I think there are three key practices Democrats need to do in order to, most importantly, make the country stronger, and garner further voter support. First, they need to address domestic issues such as minimum wage, social security, immigration, Homeland Security (and this means looking at its ridiculous efforts, and addressing its failures), education, budget, health care. I think within the next two years the most likely to be addressed will be minimum wage and immigration—possibly education, Homeland Security and the budget (it feels weird to say the Democrats need to bring back fiscal discipline to Republican overspending—but there it is). Second, and the most difficult, will be to adequately address a plan in Iraq—this should not mean the oft quoted “cut and run,” nor should it mean unending occupation. I have NO IDEA what this answer will be. (What scares me is there might not be an answer, and Democrats will be in control of Congress when that realization dawns—again backfire.) Third, Democrats have to be careful not to be distracted. They can’t waste time with things that Bush will veto on a moral stand. The next two years is not for stem cell legislation, etc. They also must not be distracted with seeking revenge by investigating Bush ad nauseam. It truly is time to get to work.

That being said, the first Democratic Presidential nominee has thrown his hat into the ring; Iowa governor Tom Vilsack announced today that he will be running for president in the 2008 elections. I am so curious to see how that shapes up within both parties; who will become the nominees and why. So the race begins…

Loricat · Graduate Student Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 446 Gender:

I'm glad I asked!

Balance in the US government...I think that's what the rest of the world is watching for, and hoping for.

Any other thoughts out there?

"All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds."

Loricat's Book Nook
Celebrating the Absurd

scrumfish · Intern Joined: 05 Mar 2004 Posts: 197 Gender:

My first prediction has come true. 90 of the 20,000 troops Bush plans to send have already been sent.

abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCo...85532 Troop Surge Already Underway (ABC News)Send me 20 dollars and I'll tell your fortune.By the way, don't you just love how the alternative description of sending more troops has been obediently picked up by the media? I don't feel at all comforted by calling an increase in soldiers being sent to Iraq a "surge."

minority mandate · Almost a regular Joined: 06 Aug 2006 Posts: 38 Gender:

Sometimes balance is not enough. One good potato doesn't balance one rotten potato for dinner.

There will be no compromise between the executive and congress - forget partisanship between Dems & Reps. The past several years have made the executive extremely powerful. It will be very difficult for a timid bunch of Dems and a rebel bunch of Reps to counter an administration backed by loyalist Reps and the court. Like the US and Iran, they won't even talk, much less listen to each other.


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