I keep hearing that the Democratic congress has been ineffective and it would seem that many agree since congress actually has a lower approval rating than GWB. How the hell can that be? Well, I think it has to do with the Iraq war. Most Democrats ran on the promise of working to end the war. And the war rages on... of course, with only a slim majority there is really not much the congress could actually do to end the war.
So what has congress actually accomplished in a year? Quite a bit!
They raised the minimum wage from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour in July 2007. And the minimum wage will rise again to $7.25 an hour in 2009. And no, small businesses have not shut down or had massive lay offs (as the right wing nutjobs predicted).
Congress also reduced interest rates (by half) on federal student loans and boosted annual Pell grants. And Congress passed a new energy bill requiring automakers to achieve an industry-wide average fuel efficiency for cars, SUVs and small trucks of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
And for the first time Congress overrode a GWB veto - - on a $23 billion bill for restoring hurricane-ravaged wetlands along the Gulf Coast and other water projects. Of course, the Dems needed the support of some Republicans to succeed on this one (34 Senate Republicans defied GWB to override the veto).
Democrats also improved oversight. A Democrat-led investigation forced Alberto Gonzales to resign.
So, yes, more can be asked of congress, but they are doing a heckuva job.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
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Interesting, thanks. The fact that this is not talked about in the 'mainstream media' brings to mind the tired old canard of the 'liberal media bias'. In my experience any bias in the media is not liberal or conservative, but profit. Powerful people doing badly is more profitable than them doing well, so any news of the Congress actually achieving things is not brought up. It's also why there's so much attention on celebrities getting in trouble. The perception is that the public loves to see news about the high and mighty falling down.
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