The ink ain't yet dry on those sparkly certificates they pass around to each incoming new Congress, and the nonsense is already starting.
First, I heard on Meet The Press today, that there is a concerted effort by the Democrats to block the serious ethics reforms measures that would go a long way towards eliminating Corporate control of the body. It seems that making ear marks, both the targets and the supporters, a matter of public record, just doesn't set right with our good folks in the Senate. They are perfectly willing to limit meals and travel perks from lobbyist, but not those budget busting, midnight added, ear marks.
Then we learn that raising taxes on that top 1% is off the table, but adjustments to existing programs will "help to control run away spending". Program cuts, not tax adjustments to balance the budget.
Did they hear us? When we went into those voting booths and marked our ballots for change, did they even notice?
I have never been a fan of the way business is done in DC. Allowing people to make decisions on our behalf without full transparency as to who, why and how those decision are reached is never in the interests of a representative democracy.
Then we have a little of the same ole', same ole'...
Stephen Lendman made this observation shorty after the election. Democrats.Com
The political firmament shook briefly post-November 7 raising hopes change would follow the Republicans' "thumpin'" at the polls and the Democrats regaining control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the GOP sweep in 1994. Presumed new House speaker Nancy Pelosi stopped the tremors making it clear no substantive change will be on the table when when the 110th Congress convenes on January 3. Instead, she announced to those paying attention it'll be business as usual (as it always is) as she intends to work with the president in a spirit of bipartisanship and not be "obstructionist" even though Republicans for past 12 years never returned that courtesy or even made a pretense of doing it.
Do they think of anything beyond their next campaign contribution and fighting to hold on to the power they have accrued?
They don't even do their job!
For example, the right-wing blogs have gone to a great deal of effort to disprove Michael Moore's commentary that most legislation is voted upon with out being read. Rep. Charles Rangel noted on two separate TV broadcasts that the Patriot Act was not read by any of the Senators who voted for it, and just this weekend, it was acknowledged again that only 6 Senators had bothered to read the NSA Survailance Act before approving it.
Since early in 2005 there has been a vigorous effort to insist that pending legislation be put up on the web 72 hours before a vote is called. Go to Read the Bill to check out your Congress Critter and see if they think you should have access to the wording of legislation before it is passed in your name. If they are not going to bother to read what they sign, shouldn't you at least have the opportunity to do so? Unfortunately, this effort seems to have lost steam since its initial proposal.
Listening to the pundit chatter this weekend, I was overcome with an impending sense of doom. "Our" new guys seemed on target, with both Jim Webb (VA) and Jon Tester (MT) doing a good job of speaking directly to issues we elected them to address. But there is no reason to think that business as usual will not continue to be the modus operendi among the old hands.
It's time to do a bit of screaming. Now, before the new Congress is seated. We must contact our Representatives and let them know that we will not accept the same behavior with a Democratic label.