Who is the weakest link in DC's Democratic Leadership?
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shootemwon
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Meaning who (out of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid) is most responsible for allowing the GOP to turn the massive Democratic victories of 08 to a lackluster reign in DC during 09-10? Here's my take:
Reid is the worst. Sure, you can say he's had it the toughest, because even when he had 60 people in his caucus, just one dissenter took away their ability to stop a filibuster against a united GOP caucus. But that can't be accepted as an excuse, especially now that he's down to 59 members. Reid shouldn't have been so afraid of a filibuster. A year ago, when Obama, the Democrats, and the healthcare bill was still popular, he should have grown a pair and let the GOP filibuster. It would have been a political win for the Dems, and put pressure on Lieberman or anyone else who was letting the filibuster go on. Instead, he did sleazy deals with Landrieu, Nelson, and others in his own party, and stripped the bill of the public option and other important features to appease the conservative democrats. Ruined HCR because he was too scared to stare down a filibuster.
Obama comes second in my list. He's been far too soft up until now. When he came into office with an 80% approval rating and a mandate to pass his stimulus bill he let members of Congress from both parties play hardball to weaken the bill and get their pet projects added onto it. He had a ? 80 PERCENT APPROVAL RATING. At that point, he could have at least taken any Democrat who was dragging their heels and met privately with them to say "Pass this bill, the way I want it passed, without your pork in it, or FEEL MY ? WRATH." His obsessive desire to stay on good terms with so many selfish people instantly put his mantra of "change" to death. He continued to squander his power in a similar fashion with Healthcare, and now he's lost that power because of his mediocre approval ratings.
Pelosi, while far from perfect, is the best of the three in my opinion. She got a decent version of the HCR bill passed, and then when Reid made a mess of it in the Senate, she cleaned it up as much as possible, but was stuck passing Reid's ? version. Though there's no filibuster in the House, she still has a caucus of selfish and spineless Democrats who would prefer to never vote on anything, and she keeps them in line somehow.
Reid is the worst. Sure, you can say he's had it the toughest, because even when he had 60 people in his caucus, just one dissenter took away their ability to stop a filibuster against a united GOP caucus. But that can't be accepted as an excuse, especially now that he's down to 59 members. Reid shouldn't have been so afraid of a filibuster. A year ago, when Obama, the Democrats, and the healthcare bill was still popular, he should have grown a pair and let the GOP filibuster. It would have been a political win for the Dems, and put pressure on Lieberman or anyone else who was letting the filibuster go on. Instead, he did sleazy deals with Landrieu, Nelson, and others in his own party, and stripped the bill of the public option and other important features to appease the conservative democrats. Ruined HCR because he was too scared to stare down a filibuster.
Obama comes second in my list. He's been far too soft up until now. When he came into office with an 80% approval rating and a mandate to pass his stimulus bill he let members of Congress from both parties play hardball to weaken the bill and get their pet projects added onto it. He had a ? 80 PERCENT APPROVAL RATING. At that point, he could have at least taken any Democrat who was dragging their heels and met privately with them to say "Pass this bill, the way I want it passed, without your pork in it, or FEEL MY ? WRATH." His obsessive desire to stay on good terms with so many selfish people instantly put his mantra of "change" to death. He continued to squander his power in a similar fashion with Healthcare, and now he's lost that power because of his mediocre approval ratings.
Pelosi, while far from perfect, is the best of the three in my opinion. She got a decent version of the HCR bill passed, and then when Reid made a mess of it in the Senate, she cleaned it up as much as possible, but was stuck passing Reid's ? version. Though there's no filibuster in the House, she still has a caucus of selfish and spineless Democrats who would prefer to never vote on anything, and she keeps them in line somehow.
Comments
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Reid. Pelosi gets ? done. Love that lady. Plus she always goes for the ? of the GOP. That lady woulda passed single-payer in the house if she knew the senate had a chance. The house versions of all the bills are always way more inline with the liberal agenda (my agenda).
