Not to be cliche, but I think there is hope from Obama’s State of the Union address that change is possible. Obama outlined numerous policies in his address that Democrats have historically supported. These include the repealing of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy within the military, an increase in Pell Grants (free money from the government for college) along with more money in general for education, more loans to small businesses, a tougher and more active stance on clean energy and expanding and concentrating further on the middle class. If he can get many of the policies outlined in the address passed in Congress, then our country will be far better off and many Democrats should be pleased.
But there are a few things that we should remember. First is that while the President may try to get policies implemented and may ask Congress to pass legislation accordingly, this is unlikely to happen with the current state of the Senate. The Republicans in the Senate are more or less requiring a super majority of 60 votes to get anything done that they even slightly disagree with. And with the election of a Republican to the seat Ted Kennedy once held from Massachusetts, it is likely that most of this won’t get passed in the Senate.
Obama can ask or tell the Senate to pass a bill until he’s blue in the face, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen and there is not a lot any of us can do about that — except for get involved. Second, we need to remember that Obama, as he reminded us in his State of the Union, inherited a deeply troubled country, one that had been long before he was elected. There was a multi-trillion dollar deficit, the housing market had been in shambles for months and the banking and auto industries had been failing already.
He took action in the best manner he knew how, and now that the American people are back on their feet, he has proposed fees on the banks that now seem to be able to give out multi-million dollar bonuses. It has only been slightly more than a year since he was inaugorated, and while he has made mistakes there are three more years to come. So, democrats, don’t quit just because you are not getting what you want, stick with your party even when the going gets rough. It won’t be like this forever, and we need to support what we believe in to make change happen, not quit just when our party needs it the most.
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 3 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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so when is the democrat pep rally going to be held? but seriously, this gridlock sounds like it could be used as a teachable moment. President Obama should sit down with the majority and minority leaders and settle all these petty differences over a couple beers
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No he shouldn't. He should give them a spanking. A noble viking spanking that they truly deserve.
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Senator Judd Gregg (a Republican from New Hampshire) has recently indicated a willingness to lead a re-start on health care reform, which he says is urgently needed. This seems to be a good faith effort to get this done. Gregg was, however, had agreed to be in Obama's cabinet, and backed out at the last minute. Hopefully this will not happen this time.
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