Sunday, November 12, 2006

Should the Democrats treat the Republicans like they were treated these last 6 years?

Remember what was done:
""There is no legislative process anymore," said Fred Wertheimer, the legendary open-government activist who has been monitoring Congress since 1963. "Bills are decided in advance of going to the floor."

Republicans counter that Democrats, too, used their power to get their way when they were in the majority, and Democrats acknowledge that they sometimes used procedures to their advantage. It was the Democrats, for example, who changed the makeup of the Rules Committee to give disproportionate clout to the majority party.

But longtime Congress-watchers say they have never seen the legislative process so closed to input from minority-party members, the public, and lobbyists whose agenda is unsympathetic to GOP leadership goals."

The Carpetbagger Report points out this:
"Legislation was written without Dem input; bills were passed without letting Dems read it; Dems’ bills were denied hearings and votes; Dems weren’t allowed to offer amendments to legislation; Dems weren’t even allowed to use hearing rooms. If Dems managed to win a key vote on the floor, Republicans would simply keep the vote open — literally for hours, if necessary — until enough arms could be twisted and/or lawmakers bribed. Being a congressional Democrat in recent years was frequently nothing short of humiliating.

Now, of course, Republicans are the minority party on the Hill. The question is obvious: does the Democratic majority treat the Republican minority the way they were treated?"

Revenge is sweet and best served cold.

How about we show the Republicans how governing is actually done?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem is that Democrats will treat the American People just as Republicans treated them for the last six years...as insignificant.

ellroon said...

I hope there is some learning curve with politicians in general and with Democrats in particular. Being out of power with their faces pressed to the window I hope taught them some humility. If not, we are waiting to do unto them what we just did to the Bush administration. Hold them accountable.