Obama, the Republicans and the Triangle of Power in the U.S.
Published in El Tiempo
(Colombia) on 16 November 2010
by Elizabeth Mora-Mass (link to original)
President Barack Obama has made an appeal to the Republican party to improve relations and bring the U.S. forward after Tuesday’s debacle, in which the Democratic party suffered their biggest defeat in 60 years. On Tuesday, there were 257 Democrats and 178 Republicans in the House of Representatives. When we woke up on Wednesday, there were 239 Republicans, 185 Democrats, and 14 contests still remaining to be decided. The fear is that there will be conflict that will cause paralysis in Washington, which could be disastrous for the entire planet.
Obama held a press conference on Tuesday in which he began by accepting responsibility for this loss. In fact, the exercise of power in Washington is no longer a matter between the boss in the White House and his own party; it is now a triangle between the President, John Boehner — the new Speaker of the House — and the Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell.
Although Harry Reid, the Democrat who is still Senate majority leader, won in Nevada — thanks to the Hispanic vote — it is still not known if he will continue as Democratic leader, or if the Democrats will select a leader less contaminated by policies imposed by the Democrats, such as the economic stimulus or health care reform — given that the Republicans are committed throughout the country to overturn the Health Care Law and lower taxes for all Americans. But Reid is a moderate Democrat who is open to dialogue and a skillful negotiator, which makes him valuable for the Democrats.
Nor do we know what will happen with Nancy Pelosi, who is still speaker of the House. Her name generates much controversy in the U.S., since during her term she proved to be a tough, commanding woman who imposed her liberal principles, no matter what the cost. Because of this, the tea party chose her as the symbol of the fact that “the Democrats want to impose socialism on the United States.”
At the same time, everyone is wondering what will be the role of Sarah Palin, the enchanted princess of the tea party. Although her allies won the majority of the races in which they participated, some of her favorites didn’t, including Ken Buck in Colorado, who lost to the Democrat Michael Bennet, and Palin’s arch-rival, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — Palin’s home state — is beating Joe Miller, Palin’s candidate.
Elsewhere, in his press conference, Obama said that he would “absolutely” negotiate the tax cuts that are set to expire this year. The Democrats want to maintain the tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 per year and raise taxes on the richest people by one percent, while the Republicans would like to maintain tax cuts for everybody, including the rich.
However, the Republicans, with a triumphant air, never cease to declare in front of the TV cameras that they did not win in order to leave things as they are. And they allege that the White House will have to accept maintaining tax rate cuts for everyone, holding off on health care reform and not approving Obama’s proposed economic stimulus bill.
However, according to CNN, the president has thrown down the gauntlet to the Republicans, saying that the White House “will not accept attempts to revisit or weaken the central themes of the first two years of his term: financial regulation, health care reform, and federal assistance for higher education.”*
The analysts mutter beneath their breath that relations between the executive and the legislative branches will be “ugly.” And they will be because the 2012 campaign is now beginning, with Obama seeking re-election and the Republicans attacking him with all their strength.
At the time of this writing, the Republicans were winning 62 seats in the House, and there were at least 14 other contests being fought vote by vote.
With this state of affairs, some analysts say that there is a possibility of gridlock in Washington caused by the face-off between Republicans and Democrats, which will mean that we can forget about such urgent legislation as regulation of the big multi-national financial companies, global banking,and environmental regulation.
However, the imposition of the Republican agenda and the paralysis of the federal government — as it happened to Bill Clinton when the Democrats lost that midterm election — would have too high a cost for the United States: the possible loss of global leadership to China and India, as some liberal analysts dare to say. Conservative analysts assert that all is well.
Perhaps in their eagerness to defeat “that black man and his socialist ideas,” the tea party is handing over power and leadership to other people with yellow and coffee-colored skin who are not even American …
*Editor's Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.
Obama held a press conference on Tuesday in which he began by accepting responsibility for this loss. In fact, the exercise of power in Washington is no longer a matter between the boss in the White House and his own party; it is now a triangle between the President, John Boehner — the new Speaker of the House — and the Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell.
Although Harry Reid, the Democrat who is still Senate majority leader, won in Nevada — thanks to the Hispanic vote — it is still not known if he will continue as Democratic leader, or if the Democrats will select a leader less contaminated by policies imposed by the Democrats, such as the economic stimulus or health care reform — given that the Republicans are committed throughout the country to overturn the Health Care Law and lower taxes for all Americans. But Reid is a moderate Democrat who is open to dialogue and a skillful negotiator, which makes him valuable for the Democrats.
Nor do we know what will happen with Nancy Pelosi, who is still speaker of the House. Her name generates much controversy in the U.S., since during her term she proved to be a tough, commanding woman who imposed her liberal principles, no matter what the cost. Because of this, the tea party chose her as the symbol of the fact that “the Democrats want to impose socialism on the United States.”
At the same time, everyone is wondering what will be the role of Sarah Palin, the enchanted princess of the tea party. Although her allies won the majority of the races in which they participated, some of her favorites didn’t, including Ken Buck in Colorado, who lost to the Democrat Michael Bennet, and Palin’s arch-rival, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — Palin’s home state — is beating Joe Miller, Palin’s candidate.
Elsewhere, in his press conference, Obama said that he would “absolutely” negotiate the tax cuts that are set to expire this year. The Democrats want to maintain the tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 per year and raise taxes on the richest people by one percent, while the Republicans would like to maintain tax cuts for everybody, including the rich.
However, the Republicans, with a triumphant air, never cease to declare in front of the TV cameras that they did not win in order to leave things as they are. And they allege that the White House will have to accept maintaining tax rate cuts for everyone, holding off on health care reform and not approving Obama’s proposed economic stimulus bill.
However, according to CNN, the president has thrown down the gauntlet to the Republicans, saying that the White House “will not accept attempts to revisit or weaken the central themes of the first two years of his term: financial regulation, health care reform, and federal assistance for higher education.”*
The analysts mutter beneath their breath that relations between the executive and the legislative branches will be “ugly.” And they will be because the 2012 campaign is now beginning, with Obama seeking re-election and the Republicans attacking him with all their strength.
At the time of this writing, the Republicans were winning 62 seats in the House, and there were at least 14 other contests being fought vote by vote.
With this state of affairs, some analysts say that there is a possibility of gridlock in Washington caused by the face-off between Republicans and Democrats, which will mean that we can forget about such urgent legislation as regulation of the big multi-national financial companies, global banking,and environmental regulation.
However, the imposition of the Republican agenda and the paralysis of the federal government — as it happened to Bill Clinton when the Democrats lost that midterm election — would have too high a cost for the United States: the possible loss of global leadership to China and India, as some liberal analysts dare to say. Conservative analysts assert that all is well.
Perhaps in their eagerness to defeat “that black man and his socialist ideas,” the tea party is handing over power and leadership to other people with yellow and coffee-colored skin who are not even American …
*Editor's Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.
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