Like GOP, Democrats Fail to Pass Spending Bills on Time
When ushering in a Democratic Congressional majority, voters wanted action. They wanted things done. But just like the Republicans who previously controlled the House and the Senate basic things like passing spending bills haven’t been accomplished. This AP analysis finds much of the problem with the Senate. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “We’ve had plenty of votes on other things — nearly 30 votes on Iraq. (One being support for a three-way partition of the country.) We should be making room for other things.” War is a very serious issue. I’ll agree it’s the most pressing issue, but Majority Leader Harry Reid has failed to find a proper balance in offering plenty of debate on Iraq while at the same time passing spending bills.
So we’ve had Republicans fail to do their job and Democrats fail to do their job. You could make a case there’s a structural problem with either the Congress or the interaction between the Legislative and Executive Branches. You could also claim partisanship is the problem. To a degree it is, but really the reason we’ve had these stalemates has been the near 50-50 divide in the electorate. Neither red nor blue has been able to sway enough people to their side to elect working majorities.
The source of our divide is the importance of the issues our nation faces. We’re at war. With the spending of much blood and treasure comes deep emotions. Combine that with the desire of properly defending the nation from very nimble and relentless enemies. Debates over privacy, interrogation tactics, legal status for captured combatants all rise to a high level because many of us believe these issues cut to what it means to be American.
In one way Thomas Friedman is correct [via memeorandum]. The next President can’t be stuck wallowing in the sadness of Sep. 11, 2001. That person must look ahead to where they want the nation to be. The 2008 race won’t be about who has the most complete multi-chapter policy paper on health care, education, or maintaining a strong military. It will be about leaders projecting a vision for America that’s inspiring, realistic, and in tune with our values and history.
“Analysis: Dems Falter on Budget Deadline“
