IF THE DEMOCRATS WIN….So what happens if Democrats win control of Congress in November? Conservative Bruce Bartlett says, nothing much:
Democrats are unlikely to get more than a very thin majority in the House. If they get the Senate as well, it will not be with more than a one-vote margin. Consequently, effective control will be in the hands of moderates who often work with Republicans on specific issues. In a delicious bit of irony, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, lately excoriated by the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, may end up holding the balance of power in the Senate.
As for impeachment and cutting money for Iraq, such actions would be politically insane and the Democratic leadership knows it. They will make the White House pay a price for Iraq, but will ensure that they don?t get blamed for any debacle resulting from failure to provide adequate money for our troops.
At the Washington Post, liberal Harold Meyerson mostly agrees. He says the Democratic agenda will be pretty much what you’d expect:
It includes raising the minimum wage, repealing the Medicare legislation that forbids the government from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices, replenishing student loan programs, funding stem cell research and implementing those recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission that have thus far languished.
….Confronted with an up-or-down vote on raising the minimum wage or making medication for seniors more affordable, many Republicans will side with the Democrats….Should they make it through both houses, many of these measures will face a presidential veto. George W. Bush has already vetoed stem cell legislation, and he has staunchly opposed raising the minimum wage since the day he entered politics. What will congressional Republicans do if they’re confronted with a series of vetoes of popular legislation?
If Democrats win, they’ll be able to propose legislation for the first time in a long while, and this gives them considerable agenda-setting power. And while impeachment is little more than a bogey man that Republicans use to scare their troops into forking over campaign contributions, Democrats will have considerably more oversight power, even if Republicans did gut the oversight staff when they took over a decade ago. And not a moment too soon.
