2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumOverrated, useless fools: Why this Congress will never achieve anything significant
The idea that major reforms could happen with this Congress is a fantasy. Here's why the media pretends otherwiseALEX PAREENE
As I wrote last month and also several other times over the past five or so years, comprehensive immigration reform defined as a bill making it possible for currently undocumented residents to earn legal status and/or citizenship cant happen now because Republicans control the House of Representatives, conservatives control the Republican Party, and conservatives oppose granting legal status to undocumented immigrants. Its a very simple calculation, and most discussions of the political status of immigration reform could start and end with some variation on that explanation.
But people need something to talk about, and politicians need reasons to go on Sunday shows. Elected officials need to signal to important donors and interest groups that they are doing everything in their power to enact the preferred policies of those important donors and interest groups. There is really more incentive for Republicans to talk about immigration reform than to actually pass it. Obviously lots of Republicans do sincerely want immigration reform to pass. But those Republicans dont have a majority in the House, and until that changes, immigration reform will be practically politically impossible.
Last month, Speaker of the House John Boehner said he was confident that immigration reform could pass this year. That confidence lasted a few weeks. By the end of last week, the GOP had settled on an adequate excuse for declining to pursue their recently announced immigration list of principles: They cant do anything at all because they dont trust President Obama.
Which, fine. Its a pretty lame excuse, but Speaker Boehner was not going to say, I dont have the clout or the power to unilaterally force a plurality of xenophobes and cowards ensconced in safe white districts to support a major Democratic policy priority. Republicans were going to blame Democrats no matter what.
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http://www.salon.com/2014/02/10/overrated_useless_fools_why_this_congress_will_never_achieve_anything_significant/
PATRICK
(12,228 posts)that this has some to do with bi-partisanship(in blame or incrementalism it is both sides or the whole). I think we have seen when, mostly in spite of the frame, the people get the picture enough to starting tanking GOP public support, the whipped dogs will do something minimal. Still, the frame is cast iron and the President supports it. Like the picture of Dorian Gray, the evil minded loons sitting inside this frame, like a group portrait of inmates at an insane asylum, keep getting uglier and uglier. The deal is, however ugly the picture gets, the Devil's bargain continues to work- for more time than seems credulousy possible- for the careerists in their rigged districts.
SamKnause
(13,108 posts)If we had a government, by the people for the people, we could fire all their asses !!!!
But we have to treat our government with kid gloves.
We have to respect the office.
I say bullshit.
Hearings and impeachments are not the answer.
We need the power to fire and kick them to the curb.
They want to run the government like a business.
I say in the real world an approval rating of 13% warrants termination.
Respect is earned not given.
I have zero respect for these corrupt useless fools.
ladjf
(17,320 posts)sociopaths. nt
seabeckind
(1,957 posts)blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)ChazInAz
(2,570 posts)Our Constitution needed to include a mechanism for a vote of confidence / no confidence. These buffoons need to be nervous and looking over their shoulders at the people who could fire their wrinkled tusches.
Zorro
(15,740 posts)What better evidence is there than reviewing recent Congressional legislative output?
Boehner crows about not passing legislation and claims triumph.
Response to DonViejo (Original post)
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sakabatou
(42,159 posts)Ever since 2010, it's been a circus.