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1 of 1- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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- Registered: 1/29/2015
- Posts: 13,427
Next Round in the Fight That Never Ends
Turmoil Overshadows First Day of Republican-Controlled Congress
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Congress opened the turbulent Trump era in Washington on Tuesday, as the new Senate moved instantly to begin the repeal of President Obama’s signature health care law while the House descended into chaos in an ill-fated attempt to gut an independent congressional ethics office.
On a day usually reserved for pomp, constitutionally mandated procedure and small children parading around in fancy dresses, Congress instead pitched itself into partisan battles.
Speaker Paul D. Ryan easily won re-election, but not before the embarrassment of having his members defy him by voting to eliminate the ethics office, only to then abandon that effort after a flood of criticism from constituents and Twitter messages from President-elect Donald J. Trump that criticized House Republican priorities.
It was a rocky start to a period in which Republicans had promised an end to Washington gridlock if they controlled both Congress and the White House. There was intraparty conflict and a sense that Mr. Trump, who ran against the Republican establishment, would continue to be openly critical of his own party at times.
As Democrats in both chambers seethed, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, unveiled the legislative language that could decimate the Affordable Care Act before the crocuses start to bloom in the spring, even if any replacement of the law could take years.
Budget language released on Tuesday gives House and Senate committees only until Jan. 27 to produce legislation that would eliminate major parts of the health care law. Under arcane budget procedures, that legislation would be protected from a Democratic filibuster and could pass the Senate with a simple majority. And debate will begin on Wednesday, before senators have even moved into their new offices.
The dueling over the health law’s fate will pull in both the departing and incoming White House administrations as well. On Wednesday, Mr. Obama will visit with congressional Democrats to plot how to resist the planned repeal, and Mike Pence, the vice president-elect, will meet with Republicans to gird them for the fight ahead.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- tennyson
- Exchanger
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- Registered: 2/06/2015
- Posts: 6,654
Re: Next Round in the Fight That Never Ends
Maybe the Dems should let the whole thing pass easily and watch the millions of the "average Joes" reaction to their "hero" of the people.
"Do not confuse motion and progress, A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress"
- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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- Registered: 1/29/2015
- Posts: 13,427
Re: Next Round in the Fight That Never Ends
That's one way to look at it.
Hey, if he did not want them shorn, God would not have made them sheep.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- •
Thread Starter