Thanks to the 111th Congress - the most productive, progressive Congress in a generation.

[jefferson_dem]

:patriot:

While nobody is totally satisfied with every bit of legislation, there's no question (in my opinion) that the 111th will go down in history as one of the most productive, progressive Congresses in a generation. Consider the robust record of accomplishment, especially the signature initiatives listed below.

1. Economic Stimulus / Tax Cuts
2. Health care reform and coverage for 31 million Americans
3. Student loan reform
4. Financial Regulator Reform
5. Credit card reform.
6. Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
7. Lilly Ledbetter Act
8. Student Loan Reform
9. START Treaty ratification (?)
...

What did I leave out?

[totodeinhere]

1. What did you leave out? You left out the Dream Act, which was blocked today.

You present a biased analysis because you only mention the good things and fail to bring up the bad.

[MH1]

2. The DREAM Act wasn't passed by any other congress either

so I don't get your point.

The point of the OP is that this congress has gotten MORE done than others. Not that it got EVERYTHING done.

[jefferson_dem]

3. Of course, we didn't pass everything we wanted. That sucks.

But I'm talking about what was accomplished, not what was not accomplished.

Focus.

Can you point to a more productive, progressive Congress ... since 1965?

[lunatica]

16. The DREAM Act will be passed at some point

Let's only hope that it'll be soon.

[totodeinhere]

18. Not while the GOP controls the House. Maybe in 2 years if the Dems take over

again in 2012 it can happen then.

[leveymg]

4. You left out the fact that the Democratic Party committed suicide this week.

And I'm not talking about DADT - that's just one more irrational social wedge issue for the GOOP to make votes out of fear and hate. The "Economic Stimulus/Tax Cuts" and "Health care reform and coverage for 31 million Americans", as you so kindly put it, are still essentially a cave to the Right/Raid on the SS Trust Fund, and a Bailout for the private insurance industry.

The rest is largely symbolic politics intended to appease key interest groups and keep us all quiet and out of the way while they finish looting the Treasury and the Multinationals have stripped out and offshored what remains of valuable assets inside the United States.

Congratulations. BOHICA.

[jefferson_dem]

5. I get it. You're not satisfied.... apparently even with the repeal of DADT.

Since these amount to mere "symbolic politics"... please identify which Congress you think was more *substantively* productive and list those accomplishments.

BOHICA? Haha.

[leveymg]

7. No, I'm not satisfied. Considering the overwhelming mandate for real change we gave them in '08,

this is a wholly inadequate record of achievement. They're fired.

If you want to look at a period of effective Presidential and Congressional leadership, look at Johnson/Mansfield/McCormack during the period 1964-1968. If it hadn't been for the Vietnam War and political assassinations, that would have been a period of real progress in America. The 89th and 90th Congresses passed the Voting Rights Acts ('64 and '68), the Great Society Programs, Head Start, the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, the second Test Ban Treaty ('67 Outer Space nuclear-free treaty, ratified unanimously by the Senate).

What we got in the last two years is but a faint echo of a era of great political accomplishment. It was, of course, a different time and this is a different country and a different world. But, I guess that's the point.

[Exilednight]

24. Health insurance for 31 million is a myth that his supporters keep repeating. The truth is

more people will end this year without health insurance than those who started the year with health insurance. Many have been priced out of the market because Obama failed to address the core issue - namely: COST!

We went from 46.3 million Americans without insurance to 50.7 million Americans without health insurance.

[liberal N proud]

6. This congress passed some of the things that have been campaign issues for years

Some of what was passed this session was stuff that I thought would never pass because it gave the candidates something to campaign for or against.

Progress was made after so many sessions where they only talked about some issues.

Regardless of all those who have been negative and criticizing this Congress and the President, significant progress was made and campaign promises were kept.

[rug]

8. You left out the escalation in Afghanistan, the refunding of Guantanamo, the renewal of the Patriot

Act, the renewal of the millionaire tax cuts, and sundry other things.

[joshcryer]

9. Do those negate the progress?

[jefferson_dem]

11. They do not.

Thanks.

[rug]

14. They complete the picture.

And the damage being done in Afghanistan may well overwhelm any gains.

[Pisces]

10. It has been a productive 2 years. Thank you to President Obama for rolling up his sleeves

and getting to the business of governing. I for one am thankful for all the admin has accomplished. The naysayers want to find reasons to be disappointed. The obstruction that this admin has dealt with while getting these bills passed is a measure of how determined and persistent this President has been.

[CakeGrrl]

12. In total agreement. K/R for the OP.

[lunatica]

17. The repeal of DADT has given me reason to hope again

This was a huge biggy for the homophobic Congress and country we have. The fact that there's any question about equal right for any American is a huge issue in this country.

[jefferson_dem]

13. Shit...

I just realized I listed "Student Loan Reform" twice. Ooopsie. For self-interested reasons...that item is on the top of my mind.

[lunatica]

15. I always said that as long as we're going in the right direction I would be supportive

As a Progressive I get that big sweeping change is never just going to happen in this country. Most Americans don't have a clue as to what's going on, much less what this country was founded on or has evolved to be. Most Americans are self centered and go through life with blinders on so they don't ever see the big picture. They believe what their church pastor says but not what Jesus said.

I know that true justice and equality is a matter of small steps. I guarantee that most Americans don't even know that DADT was even mentioned today. Most Americans probably didn't know it was ever an issue.

[Superstring]

19. There's also the new tobacco regulation

...for the first time in US history, the FDA has the authority to regulate the tobacco companies from misleading consumers.

I agree, in spite of some setbacks and disappointments (even within these aforementioned acts), this has been an historically productive congress.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Exilednight]

23. People always forget about Carter. He passed more of his legislative agend than

any other modern president, except LBJ.

[ProSense]

25. Actually,

no

CQ: Obama's Winning Streak On Hill Unprecedented

January 11, 2010

In his first year in office, President Obama did better even than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson in winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position, a Congressional Quarterly study finds.

The new CQ study gives Obama a higher mark than any other president since it began scoring presidential success rates in Congress more than five decades ago. And that was in a year where Obama tackled how to deal with Afghanistan, Iraq, an expanding terrorist threat, the economic crisis and battles over health care.

Unprecedented Success Rate

Obama has been no different from his predecessors in that he's always ready to send a firm message to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue as he "urges members of Congress" to come together and act. All presidents demand specific action by Congress — or at least they ask for it. But when you look at the votes of 2009 in which Obama made his preference clear, his success rate was unprecedented, according to John Cranford of Congressional Quarterly.

"His success was 96.7 percent on all the votes where we said he had a clear position in both the House and the Senate. That's an extraordinary number," Cranford says.

The previous high scores were held by Lyndon Johnson in 1965, with 93 percent, and Dwight Eisenhower, who scored 89 percent in 1953. Cranford notes that George W. Bush's score hit the high 80s in 2001, the year of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. But Obama surpassed them all, Cranford says.



more

And that's only the first year.

[mikekohr]

31. excellant piece of information, sure to dissapoint some however.

[Exilednight]

26. The only reason he recieved higher marks is because supporters include his losses .........

But another contributing factor here may prove more controversial for the president and his party. That's his willingness to negotiate and to compromise. For example, as much as the president said he wanted a public option as part of a health care bill, the final legislation won't have one. But that's not counted as a loss for the president under the scoring of this survey.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122436116

[ProSense]

27. That is not what that says.

It says nothing about the "only reason he recieved higher marks." The point is about supporters not the survey.

But another contributing factor here may prove more controversial for the president and his party. That's his willingness to negotiate and to compromise. For example, as much as the president said he wanted a public option as part of a health care bill, the final legislation won't have one. But that's not counted as a loss for the president under the scoring of this survey.

The survey measures each President equally.

[Exilednight]

28. Looking over this survey, I discovered a new fact. All presidents were measured

equally using a bad formula. It's easy to give Obama higher marks when someone is using a flawed formula to begin with.

The fact still remains, Carter turned more of his legislative agenda into law than any other modern president. Politifact puts Obama's record at just under 25%.

Edit for typo.

[ProSense]

29. Flawed?

So the last claim about the survey was wrong?

"Carter turned more of his legislative agenda into law than any other modern president"

Is that why he was primaried?

Carter helped to launch the era of deregulation

President Carter's first two years:

Major legislation
Main article: List of United States federal legislation#95th United States Congress
1977-08-03 — Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Pub.L. 95-87, 91 Stat. 445
1977-10-12 — Community Reinvestment Act, Pub.L. 95-128, title VIII, 91 Stat. 1147
1977-12-19 — Unlawful Corporate Payments Act of 1977, Pub.L. 95-213, including title I: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 91 Stat. 1494
1977-12-27 — Clean Water Act, Pub.L. 95-217, 91 Stat. 1566
1977-12-28 — International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Pub.L. 95-223, title II, 91 Stat. 1626
1978-02-25 — Department of Energy Organization Act, Pub.L. 95-238, 92 Stat. 47
1978-03-10 — Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act, Pub.L. 95-242, 92 Stat. 120
1978-10-10 — Susan B. Anthony dollar authorized
1978-10-13 — Civil Service Reform Act, Pub.L. 95-454, 92 Stat. 1111
1978-10-14 — Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act, Pub.L. 95-461, 92 Stat. 1268
1978-10-24 — Airline Deregulation Act, Pub.L. 95-504, 92 Stat. 1705
1978-10-25 — Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Pub.L. 95-511, 92 Stat. 1783
1978-10-26 — Ethics in Government Act, Pub.L. 95-521, 92 Stat. 1824
1978-10-27 — Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, Pub.L. 95-523, 92 Stat. 1887
1978-10-31 — Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Pub.L. 95-555, 92 Stat. 2076
1978-11-01 — Contract Disputes Act, Pub.L. 95-563, 92 Stat. 2383
1978-11-06 — Bankruptcy Act of 1978, Pub.L. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549
1978-11-09 — National Energy Conservation Policy Act, Pub.L. 95-619, 92 Stat. 3206

President Obama

January 29, 2009: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-2
February 4, 2009: Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (SCHIP), Pub.L. 111-3
February 17, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Pub.L. 111-5
March 11, 2009: Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-8
March 30, 2009: Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-11
April 21, 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Pub.L. 111-13
May 20, 2009: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-21
May 20, 2009: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-22
May 22, 2009: Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-23
May 22, 2009: Credit CARD Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-24
June 22, 2009: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, as Division A of Pub.L. 111-31
June 24, 2009: Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 including the Car Allowance Rebate System (Cash for Clunkers), Pub.L. 111-32
October 28, 2009: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Pub.L. 111-84
November 6, 2009: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111-92
February 12, 2010: Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, as Title I of Pub.L. 111-139
March 4, 2010: Travel Promotion Act of 2009, as Section 9 of Pub.L. 111-145
March 18, 2010: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, Pub.L. 111-147
March 23, 2010: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub.L. 111-148
March 30, 2010: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, Pub.L. 111-152
May 5, 2010: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-163
July 1, 2010: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-195
July 21, 2010: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub.L. 111-203
August 10, 2010: SPEECH Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-223
September 27, 2010: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-240
December 8, 2010: Claims Resolution Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-291, H.R. 4783
December 13, 2010: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111-296, S. 3307
December 17, 2010: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, H.R. 4853



Add repealing DADT.



"Politifact puts Obama's record at just under 25%"

First, what does that have to do with this comparison. Second, link?

[treestar]

30. Yes! The 111th Congress was amazing!

[jefferson_dem]

32. Ha... Ezra Klein stole my OP - The do-something Congress keeps doing things

:)

Wonkbook: The do-something Congress keeps doing things
By Ezra Klein

The 111th Congress refuses to go quietly into that sweet night. Friday, of course, saw the $850 billion tax deal sent to President Obama. On Saturday, the Senate broke the filibuster protecting the Don't Ask, Don't Tell rules. On Sunday, it passed the food safety bill. Those three accomplishments -- all of them significant in their own right -- now join the 111th's other achievements: Health-care reform, the financial-regulation bill, the stimulus, Ted Kennedy's national-service bill, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program and student-loan reform, just to name a few. And the 111th may not be done: Chuck Schumer wants them to stick around to pass a bill giving health benefits to the Ground Zero responders.

That is not to say it hasn't failed on at least some of what it promised to do. We still don't have a national energy strategy, of course. The House passed a cap-and-trade bill, but it languished in the Senate. Immigration reform has been ignored, and the DREAM Act -- a consolation prize at best -- was choked off by a filibuster. There are dozens of nominees sitting on their hands, and the collapse of the omnibus spending bill means the federal government will only be funded until March -- at which point you can expect a Republican House to use the leverage of a possible government shutdown and a vote on the debt limit to play some serious hardball.

But for now, spare a thought for the 111th, the most productive Congress we've had in decades. The common complaint with politicians is that they make all these promises and then head to Washington and do nothing. Whatever you can say about the 111th, you can't say that. Love their record or hate it, they headed to Washington and did exactly what they said they were going to do.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/12/wonkbook_--_do_something_congr.html

[mtnsnake]

33. Your #1 item is why the 111th Congress is also the most corporate Congress

For the sake of rich people and corporations, we flushed our tax values and our concern for the economic future of this country right down the toilet. How progressive.

[phleshdef]

34. Yea, how progressive. We should follow your way an never accomplish a god damn thing.

How "perogresseeve" indeed.

[mtnsnake]

35. awww, I guess the truth hurts, doesn't it.

[phleshdef]

36. I don't know yet. Produce some and I'll be sure to let you know.

I'm sure you will instead go with choking on your own sanctimonious, hyperbolic, meritless bullshit.

[mtnsnake]

37. Nothing but empty words from you, as usual

which fail to prove how what I posted is not true. Instead of coming up with a reasonable argument, which you obviously can't, you instead resort to some sort of feeble attempt at an insult. You can't even do that right, lol.

[niceypoo]

40. Blind loyalty does not come with ammunition

[progressoid]

38. And a good portion of #2 also.

Corporate healthcare for everyone! Yea!! :eyes:

[niceypoo]

39. You left out 'continued/affirmed Bushes disasterous economic policies'