Congressional Balance of Power

Introducing the Congressional Voter Index

The Congressional Voter Index:

This index is a measure of the true balance of power on the hill reflected through victories and the mood of the electorate. May 15th may be an outlier, or it is an indicator that the Democrats seemed to have gotten some control in the debt ceiling debate. May fifteenth is also a turning point for the Democrats who were riding on Obama's coat tails after the raid on and killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Democrat's horrible handling of the debt negotiations lead to a massive loss for them during the summer, as well as a loss of the public's trust. However, this was not the end of the Democrats because they had another trick up their sleeves: the American Jobs Act.

Failing to act on a package, any package, that would produce jobs and failing to gain the lead on the messaging, the Republicans began to suffer and never regained their footing. The Democrats continue to control the messaging, but will this trend hold until November 2012?

No Deal: My Letter to the President

Dear Barack Obama,

No deal, Mister President!  No, I’m not talking about your capitulation on our nation’s solvent social safety net, I’m talking about any deal to trim the deficit whatsoever in conjunction with this debt ceiling vote.  I, and more than likely, the majority of the American people, want to see this debt ceiling vote come to a head with no political bipartisanship affecting its outcome.

The American debt ceiling is not a tool to use as a weapon against the heads of the American people and the economy, nor is it negotiable, raising it to pay our debts and keep the government functioning is constitutionally mandated; you, Mister President and constitutional scholar, should already know this.  If you offer any type of deal, be it good or bad, even from a progressive stand-point, this will open the Pandora’s Box for what can be leveraged with the debt ceiling vote, so offer no deal!

Offer no deal and use your constitutional and executive authority to raise the debt ceiling yourself with the aid of the Treasury Department; our economy is at stake, America is at stake, Americans are at stake, do not throw any of these things or people under the bus with meaningless political theater.  Allowing any deal undermines the authority of the executive and sets a precedent for others who will follow this Congress to use the debt ceiling as leverage against a sitting president.  I and the American people understand the deficit needs to be tamed, however, I must urge you that doing so with the Full, Faith, and Credit of the United States and the economies of other nations which rely on our economy to keep the markets stable and fair with proper competition literally at gun point would be the destruction of any recovery made thus far since the end of the Great Recession.

Sincerely,

A Concerned American Citizen

More REPUBLICAN LIES

The GOP ran on a campaign touting jobs-creation, smaller government, and working harder for the American people! The first things they do when they get into office: waste time and tax-payer money in a futile attempt to repeal the job-creating, life-improving, deficit-reducing Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), attack women's reproductive rights by trying to redefine rape and incest, destroy families and attack marriages with so-called "marriage protection" amendments, and try to slow the implementation of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, which would prevent the destruction of important military careers (jobs) and stop the waste of tax-payer money. Those of you who voted Republican last year, you've been had; thanks for voting to ruin America!

Compromise This!

As we heard from the President himself, compromise is on the table.  This is a great idea, as without it, the country could face a costly gridlock as legislation halts completely and indefinitely on the Hill.  The test Obama will have to face is figuring out how and when to draw the line on such compromises without stoking the fire of the visceral anger of the American people responsible for ousting his legislative backbone within the House and Senate.

We have already seen Obama answer a very important question in this compromise test, which is what to do about the Bush-era tax cuts?  His answer:  continue the tax cuts for everyone, with the exception of the Americans who make the top two-percent of its income.  This is the correct answer and a good way to force an unlikely compromise between that of the GOP and the tea partiers who help to put them in office.  The GOP can argue all they like, but the Democrats can counter with exposing them for who they truly are, pawns of the rich and corporate.  I am willing to bet arguing to nearly double the amount of money spent (an extra $700-billion) to basically give extra money to the wealthy will not sit well with their new electorate who demanded, at the polls, fiscal responsibility from our government.

If played well, the Democrats will probably retake the White House and at least one chamber of Congress in 2012.  This sweeping wave of red across the country represents change, a new direction for America.  Now is the time for Democrats to connect with the American people and tout their record of good, but they must do so without arrogance.  The schism the Republican Party is creating within itself will soon mean a creation of a third party of politics, or a slow extinction of the far-right politics of the GOP.  This is the excellent opportunity needed for the Democrats to expose the GOP’s true nature.  Capitalizing on this opportunity can be dangerously challenging, however, for the Democratic Party, for choosing to put politics before policy can be detrimental to their party, as well as the GOP.