In a development that should only surprise the most naive individuals -- after much feigned consternation and rhetoric -- the majority of senatorial Democrats willingly goose-stepped in line with the president to pass the so-called Bush tax cuts (so-called because now they will be the Obama tax cuts). It is expected that the House will follow suit today or, maybe, tomorrow.
I know that a lot of progressive voters are dismayed by this supposed turn of events. As late as Monday, many Democratic representatives were vowing to keep the bill from coming to the house floor unless significant changes were made. Yet, just a meager few days later, even the staunchest opponents believe the bill will pass easily. In other words, for all the hooping and hollering, the bill as crafted by the president and the GOP will end up sailing through both chambers without as much as one teeny tiny change.
I am not surprised at all because, the moment the dastardly agreement was made, the game was over. It was a foregone conclusion that we would end up with this horrid legislation as law. While the GOP can bring either chamber to a standstill when they desire to, the last two years have proven that the Democrats simply don't have the gumption!
With the exception of two Democratic senators (one who I know ended up voting for the bill anyway) who played very minor roles, none of the rest of them stood with Sen. Bernie Sanders when he tried to block the vote. If only two or three of them would have stood in solidarity with the senator from Vermont, we wouldn't be where we are today.
And, if truth be known, Sanders was allowed to take a stand on principle simply because the vote was already in the bag. I am not suggesting that Bernie wouldn't have wanted to pursue the filibuster strategy that he pursued, but, if the vote was hanging in the balance, we each should know that tremendous pressure from the White House and his colleagues would have been applied and there's a better than average chance he reluctantly might have stood down.
What is going on in the US House now is high theater. The majority of Democrats are pandering to their progressive base. Come election time in two years, many want to be able to say, "I put up the good fight, so don't blame me for all the crap this bill has wrought." Unfortunately, just as in the senate, the vote in the house is all sewn up.
So, what are we left with? High burlesque, plain and simple. A lot of rhetoric has been expended and yet, at the end of the day, what the president/GOP wants the president/GOP will get. And please don't allow yourselves to be fooled; it's what the majority of Democrats want too. They had the numbers to stop this terrible piece of legislation dead in its tracks and they chose not to.
So, they own it just as much as their Republican counterparts do.
I know that a lot of progressive voters are dismayed by this supposed turn of events. As late as Monday, many Democratic representatives were vowing to keep the bill from coming to the house floor unless significant changes were made. Yet, just a meager few days later, even the staunchest opponents believe the bill will pass easily. In other words, for all the hooping and hollering, the bill as crafted by the president and the GOP will end up sailing through both chambers without as much as one teeny tiny change.
I am not surprised at all because, the moment the dastardly agreement was made, the game was over. It was a foregone conclusion that we would end up with this horrid legislation as law. While the GOP can bring either chamber to a standstill when they desire to, the last two years have proven that the Democrats simply don't have the gumption!
With the exception of two Democratic senators (one who I know ended up voting for the bill anyway) who played very minor roles, none of the rest of them stood with Sen. Bernie Sanders when he tried to block the vote. If only two or three of them would have stood in solidarity with the senator from Vermont, we wouldn't be where we are today.
And, if truth be known, Sanders was allowed to take a stand on principle simply because the vote was already in the bag. I am not suggesting that Bernie wouldn't have wanted to pursue the filibuster strategy that he pursued, but, if the vote was hanging in the balance, we each should know that tremendous pressure from the White House and his colleagues would have been applied and there's a better than average chance he reluctantly might have stood down.
What is going on in the US House now is high theater. The majority of Democrats are pandering to their progressive base. Come election time in two years, many want to be able to say, "I put up the good fight, so don't blame me for all the crap this bill has wrought." Unfortunately, just as in the senate, the vote in the house is all sewn up.
So, what are we left with? High burlesque, plain and simple. A lot of rhetoric has been expended and yet, at the end of the day, what the president/GOP wants the president/GOP will get. And please don't allow yourselves to be fooled; it's what the majority of Democrats want too. They had the numbers to stop this terrible piece of legislation dead in its tracks and they chose not to.
So, they own it just as much as their Republican counterparts do.
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