Fear of being perceived as a "whiner" is scant justification for the Democrats not pounding home the reality that the Republican party has not given this country the opportunity to recover. The number of cloture motions, to end discussion on proposed legislation, far exceeded 100 in both the 111th (2009-10) and 112th Congress (2011-12). In contrast, in the 2005-06 session there were 68 motions. To give this further historical context, there were never more than 41 such requests until the 100th congressional session. It was, until recent times, perceived as a method of last, not first, resort.
The intent of the Democratic party was to infuse the economy with funds when the private sector was unable or unwilling to do so.. Last year the President implored the Republicans in Congress to "pass this jobs bill". It was a mantra that was repeated as a central theme for weeks, but it had no chance of changing even one vote in opposition. There were, by independent estimates, over a million jobs in fields such as construction, firefighting and teaching that went unfilled, because the funds required went the way of procedural death.
The filibuster has been a tool utilized by the Republicans to blunt this presidency and keep this economy stagnant. I understand that it may be unseemly to blame the other guy when you, theoretically, are in control of the ball.. But the inescapable truth is that there has been one party seeking to end this recession and another seeking only to end a presidency. And the people voting on the first Tuesday in November should be fully aware of this 800 pound gorilla before casting their ballots.
1 comment:
The President should have been speaking about the Gorilla to the American public long before this, ie: once it was clear that their only intent was to obstruct. Getting the public to "see" the Gorilla now, during the late stages of a campaign, becomes difficult.
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