Most Americans don't like Congress, and this is not a new lack of appreciation. Most of us didn't like Congress when President Bush was in office. The big difference is that now the American people have finally had their fill. We should expect big changes in both the House and Senate as a result of the November 2010 election. This is why so many from both parties have decided to call it quits. This is fine with me; in fact I would love to see term limits allowing 12 years (two terms) in the Senate and 6 years (three terms) in the House. It is true that Congress has become extremely polarized, and I see no end in sight as lines are being drawn in the sand. The Democrats have taken a hard left under President Obama, Senator Reid, and Speaker Pelosi. In response, the Republicans are moving even stronger to the right. I don't expect to see moderates being placed in office in 2010, but I do expect to see new players in both Houses. Maybe they will attempt to focus on common ground, but that ground will be small. Only time will tell.
The absurd part about this is that the Republicans and conservatives wouldn't tolerate what Bayh and the so-called Blue Dogs did if this happened on their side of the aisle. You have plentyy of diverse viewpoints on many issues among Republicans and conservatives, but after the Republicans caucus, they stand united.
Not so with Bayh, the Blue Dogs and the Democrats.
That's why I don't buy what Bayh is selling about Congress not working. He and the Blue Dogs are one of the main reasons that it didn't work. They never supported their Party after the Democrats caucused and made their decisions about what their positions would be. They always defied the will of the majority of their caucus and demanded that the Democratic Party reflect their individual political interests. Had they stood united with their Party and then Congress hadn't worked, then I would agree...but like a typical politician, he is trying to have it both ways...all the way to the end.
That's why I call them Yellow Dogs...because that is the color of the streak down their back sides. There are no Profiles in Courage among this bunch.
I'm guessing that you really have never read the read the book Profiles in Courage by President Kennedy. One can find an autographed copy in the Nixon Library of Profiles in Courage. It's signed, "To my good friend Dick, Your friend Jack Kennedy."
One of the people in Profiles of Courage is Senator Daniel Webster. He was instrumental in helping form the Missouri Compromise. He said something like, "I want to speak to you today, not as a Mass. man, not as a Northern man, but as an American...I speak to preserve the Union."
The problem is that the Democrats are adopting policies that are too extreme, too Socialistic/Marxist-like, and too Left-Wing. They do not stand for the average U.S. Citizen. You are wrong! The Blue Dogs are the ones with Courage to stand for the incorrect direction the Democrats have gone in. Some of the most yellow people, or people that have no coverage are Vice President Biden, and Senate Majority Leader Reid. Those two are not that Left-Wing and refuse to stand-up to the Obama Administration and tell them the truth about how far Left they have gone.
You have it wrong, and if you have never read the book Profiles of Courage by President Kennedy I reccomend it to you.
You are missing my point....and that point is Bayh shouldn't be whining about Congress not working when he and his fellow Blue Dogs were one of the main reasons why.
After the Republicans caucus on a particular piece of legislation, they stand united...even when they don't all agree. I was actually paying the GOP a compliment. The individual GOP senators don't try to impose their individual political interests to frustrate the will of the majority of their caucus after the majority of their caucus has decided something. That was the main reason why health care (for example) got bogged down. You might say that that was a good thing...fine...but the point is that Congress cannot function as a body if the individual senators go off the reservation like Bayh and the other Blue Dogs did on a routine basis. That was how they operated and that is one of the main reasons why Congress doesn't work today.
In fact, party disloyalty was rewarded by Majority Leader Harry Reid. Think about it...those Democrats who abided by the decisions of their caucus got nothing in return...but the Blue Dogs who held out not only got the health car reform bill substantially changed, they also got things for their home states that the GOP denounced as bribes. By rewarding these Blue Dog senators for holding up their party, Harry Reid was also angering those Democrats who got on board early and who got nothing. In effect, party loyalty was punished and party disloyalty was rewarded. This is only one example why Harry Reid is such a terrible and ineffective Senate Majority Leader. A Majority Leader can't do that and expect to hold a party caucus together...not for long.
Bayh was one of the main ones who contributed to this dynamic and he is one of those who is primarily responsible for the Senate becoming dysfunctional.
While the fact that the GOP did nothing but obstruct things is another reason why the Senate doesn't work, that is an entirely different subject.
Oh, and by the way, I did read Profiles in Courage...and it certainly would NOT have included any of this bunch. Their votes were routinely bought and sold by special interest groups for pocket change. No courage in that.
by jgg000101 February 16, 2010 12:05 AM EST you're getting my money wheher I like it or not. Believe me, I'd much rather have saved and invested for myself.
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You are a Social Darwinian.
The premise of Social Security is that it has the risk removed. That is why it was so popular with Main Street after the Depression. Main Street consists of many ideologies, but it is really hard to sell the idea of Natural Selection to people who are not in a Class that can remove them from selection of nature from the equation.
Are you so sure that in a true Social Darwinian "Utopia" you would be deemed "fit to survive".
by HawkSpringsIsBack February 15, 2010 8:59 PM EST It took Jimmy Carter about three years for America to get really sick of him. Obama did it in one. That's some Change.
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by curse914 February 15, 2010 9:40 PM EST
I would love for you to have your theocracy.
Lets split the Bible Belt off of from the Union.
Can you imagine the powerhouse that Washington State, California and Oregon would be as a Nation state?
====================
by HawkSpringsIsBack February 15, 2010 10:05 PM EST We don't need a theocracy. We just need to follow the US Constitution as written. Liberals just can't seem to do that.
====================
Your pal Ashcroft wanted all judges to hand down the exact same sentences for the same "crimes". That is a Federal government out of control. So don't give me your strict Constitutionalist BS. You do need your own little Theocracy. I want to see how well that works out for you.
Evan Bayh is not the first and he won't be the last Senator to loose faith in the system. Since 1996, there have been a few handful of moderate Senators from both parties who quit for the same reasons that Bayh noted today.
It's the numerous lousy Senators that are NOT quitting that makes the future even more frightening than it already is. If you think the political climate, discipline and legislation in D.C. is poor now, then just wait because we haven't seen anything yet.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting out of the states and heading for higher ground now before the mass implosion occurs across the U.S. Best wishes to all.
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Not so with Bayh, the Blue Dogs and the Democrats.
That's why I don't buy what Bayh is selling about Congress not working. He and the Blue Dogs are one of the main reasons that it didn't work. They never supported their Party after the Democrats caucused and made their decisions about what their positions would be. They always defied the will of the majority of their caucus and demanded that the Democratic Party reflect their individual political interests. Had they stood united with their Party and then Congress hadn't worked, then I would agree...but like a typical politician, he is trying to have it both ways...all the way to the end.
That's why I call them Yellow Dogs...because that is the color of the streak down their back sides. There are no Profiles in Courage among this bunch.
One of the people in Profiles of Courage is Senator Daniel Webster. He was instrumental in helping form the Missouri Compromise. He said something like, "I want to speak to you today, not as a Mass. man, not as a Northern man, but as an American...I speak to preserve the Union."
The problem is that the Democrats are adopting policies that are too extreme, too Socialistic/Marxist-like, and too Left-Wing. They do not stand for the average U.S. Citizen. You are wrong! The Blue Dogs are the ones with Courage to stand for the incorrect direction the Democrats have gone in. Some of the most yellow people, or people that have no coverage are Vice President Biden, and Senate Majority Leader Reid. Those two are not that Left-Wing and refuse to stand-up to the Obama Administration and tell them the truth about how far Left they have gone.
You have it wrong, and if you have never read the book Profiles of Courage by President Kennedy I reccomend it to you.
After the Republicans caucus on a particular piece of legislation, they stand united...even when they don't all agree. I was actually paying the GOP a compliment. The individual GOP senators don't try to impose their individual political interests to frustrate the will of the majority of their caucus after the majority of their caucus has decided something. That was the main reason why health care (for example) got bogged down. You might say that that was a good thing...fine...but the point is that Congress cannot function as a body if the individual senators go off the reservation like Bayh and the other Blue Dogs did on a routine basis. That was how they operated and that is one of the main reasons why Congress doesn't work today.
In fact, party disloyalty was rewarded by Majority Leader Harry Reid. Think about it...those Democrats who abided by the decisions of their caucus got nothing in return...but the Blue Dogs who held out not only got the health car reform bill substantially changed, they also got things for their home states that the GOP denounced as bribes. By rewarding these Blue Dog senators for holding up their party, Harry Reid was also angering those Democrats who got on board early and who got nothing. In effect, party loyalty was punished and party disloyalty was rewarded. This is only one example why Harry Reid is such a terrible and ineffective Senate Majority Leader. A Majority Leader can't do that and expect to hold a party caucus together...not for long.
Bayh was one of the main ones who contributed to this dynamic and he is one of those who is primarily responsible for the Senate becoming dysfunctional.
While the fact that the GOP did nothing but obstruct things is another reason why the Senate doesn't work, that is an entirely different subject.
Oh, and by the way, I did read Profiles in Courage...and it certainly would NOT have included any of this bunch. Their votes were routinely bought and sold by special interest groups for pocket change. No courage in that.
you're getting my money wheher I like it or not. Believe me, I'd much rather have saved and invested for myself.
==============
You are a Social Darwinian.
The premise of Social Security is that it has the risk removed. That is why it was so popular with Main Street after the Depression. Main Street consists of many ideologies, but it is really hard to sell the idea of Natural Selection to people who are not in a Class that can remove them from selection of nature from the equation.
Are you so sure that in a true Social Darwinian "Utopia" you would be deemed "fit to survive".
It took Jimmy Carter about three years for America to get really sick of him.
Obama did it in one.
That's some Change.
========================
by curse914 February 15, 2010 9:40 PM EST
I would love for you to have your theocracy.
Lets split the Bible Belt off of from the Union.
Can you imagine the powerhouse that Washington State, California and Oregon would be as a Nation state?
====================
by HawkSpringsIsBack February 15, 2010 10:05 PM EST
We don't need a theocracy.
We just need to follow the US Constitution as written.
Liberals just can't seem to do that.
====================
Your pal Ashcroft wanted all judges to hand down the exact same sentences for the same "crimes". That is a Federal government out of control. So don't give me your strict Constitutionalist BS. You do need your own little Theocracy. I want to see how well that works out for you.
It's the numerous lousy Senators that are NOT quitting that makes the future even more frightening than it already is. If you think the political climate, discipline and legislation in D.C. is poor now, then just wait because we haven't seen anything yet.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting out of the states and heading for higher ground now before the mass implosion occurs across the U.S. Best wishes to all.
What he is trying to do is something that will benefit the American people, are you that lost in thought?
I'm sure you would have invested it, if you had it, but Madoff would have it now anyway, so SS is all you have to look forward to anyway.
Ha!