From the Party of No to the Party of No Plans
Twelve months is not a long time, but thats all the time future House Speaker John Boehner has to bring his “Republican agenda” to the American people as the presidential campaign begins next November. Somewhere between Boehner’s gin and tonics and golfing rounds, he’s going to have to come up with what his plans are. With only a vague agenda in place with no policy plans, what’s the Republican leadership going to do? From what I’ve read, Boehner has three agenda points with no plans: Cut Spending, Keep Bush’s tax cuts and Create jobs. But in keeping Bush’s tax cuts, what is Boehner going to cut. The New York Times sums up this problem very well:
Voters want federal spending curtailed, but jealously guard costly entitlements.
And, finally, the loose cannon in all of this — the Tea Party representatives and senators. How will Boehner and Minority Senate leader McConnell going to keep them in line? They couldn’t do so during this year’s Republican primaries, so how are they going to control them when they get to Washington?
I am very much looking forward to watching the Republicans try to govern. Next year will be much more difficult for the Congressional Republicans than being the Party of No for the last two years.
Tags: John Boehner
Tom Carper can now get some rest, as bills will come to the Senate already pre-Republicanized. Senate committee meetings will be less work and more fun.
Hold the phone nemski. You are acting like Republicans can’t crap the bed and call it job growth. They can and will. Actual reality means nothing to them.
Somewhere between Boehner’s gin and tonics and golfing rounds, he’s going to have to come up with what his plans are.
Are you kidding? His corporate sponsors will deliver the plans in presentation binders. They are already printed. Boehner doesn’t even have to put down his drink.
You are acting like Republicans can’t crap the bed and call it job growth. They can and will.
Agreed. If Republicans had Obama’s record of GDP growth and tax cuts they would run on a record of cutting taxes, growing the economy, and putting people back to work.
Boehner is in a dilemma. Any success must be shared with Obama – a big no-no. So… I’m predicting more party of NO. They’ve got themselves into a bind.
nemski wrote, “I am very much looking forward to watching the Republicans try to govern.”
I am sure you are. Personally, as a Democrat, I don’t look forward to it at all.
Boehner is in a dilemma. Any success must be shared with Obama – a big no-no.
They had the same problem in the 1990s and solved it with a Reality Distortion Field – Republicans nowadays are taught that the Clinton boom was created by Newt Gingrich.
Future Republicans will be taught that Obama ended the Bush boom and caused the financial sector to collapse, until Republicans restored the economy by zeroing out business taxes and privatizing Social Security.
I think Republicans have backed themselves into a wall. They’re going to get hammered by the teabaggers to get whatever it is teabaggers want done (gov shutdown, HCR repeal, impeachment) but won’t have any room to maneuver. DeMint’s going to control Senate Republicans and I think Republicans will try to get Lieberman or Nelson to switch parties, they won’t because they know they’ll be primaried out of a seat.
I just want to remind everyone that the Democratic Senate majority hinges on Nelson, Lieberman and Manchin.
They’re already talking about ‘rewriting’ key parts of the Dodd/Frank finaical reform package, specifically the parts that deal with regulating the derivatives markets. See below…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703506904575592273267530084.html?mod=WSJ_Finance_MIDDLETopNewsSecond#articleTabs%3Dcomments