The Republican wall of defense has been demolished.

[kentuck]

Especially in the Senate.

For two years, they have stood solid in opposition to the Democrats and this President.

Ironically, it was the taxcuts legislation that knocked the first bricks out of the wall. It was too tempting for them to resist.

Mitch McConnell is no longer capable of holding his troops together. All Republicans were not happy with increasing the debt with the taxcuts AND the Democratic compromises on unemployment benefits and other amendments. Both sides thought they were taken to the cleaners. If there was a win for the Democrats, it was the wall of opposition that was torn down.

Since then, the President and the Democrats have been able to garner Republican support on DADT repeal, the START treaty, and probably aid for the 9/11 responders. These are big ticket items. They are noteworthy accomplishments and several Republican leaders are whining loudly that their troops did not hang together. They have scattered their separate ways.

Perhaps they will be able to put the wall back together but it is doubtful, especially with the Senate. This should make Barack Obama's job a little less tedious in the next few months? It is encouraging to see some Republicans finally hold their leaders responsible.

[Doctor_J]

1. Hmm...Finding common ground with the least crazy of a bunch of crazies

may not be a win. It seems to me that the hyper-rich and a few giant cable providers were the big winners in two of the "compromises", much like Big Insurance won the day on the health rationing package a year ago. But DADT and START are nothing to sneeze at, unlike Boner and McTurtle.

IOW, I still don't think the country is served by its government when Bayh and Lieberman are the "center"

Edit: rec anyway - worth discussion

[Romulox]

2. Must've been a press release about this latest chess move.

This new "he won by losing!" meme is spreading...

[Bandit]

3. Senator Mcconnell would certainly disagree with you

He was quoted here yesterday saying when it comes to obstructing Democrats "ain't seen nothing yet". He was referring to the Senate adding several Republican seats to make their filibusters that much more secure.. The ONLY way Democrats will be able to Govern is by changing Senate Rules on their first day of business. Will they find a way to do that? I think it is a distinct possibility..

[RussBLib]

4. A little late

The Dems should have changed the filibuster rules in January of 2009 or 2010, but they sat on their asses. Now that the HOUSE will be Republican, the Senate will get very little worth passing, so now there's no need to change the filibuster rules.

Assholes.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. They are happy to run against Da Gays

and the other half of the repugnut party wants the START Treaty.

Meanwhile they are in fact executing on 'ruin the federal system with debt then kill social security', all with the help of our president.

[kentuck]

7. I don't know if that dog will hunt anymore?

But I do not doubt that they will try to run against "Hte Gay".

[Warren Stupidity]

10. Oh it might fail

but then again there is no evidence that it will fail. There is plenty of evidence that it has worked in the past.

The point of my post does not rest on the success or failure of compaigning on homophobic themes, it was to point out that portraying the lame duck session as a big success for our side is just a tad one dimensional, and that there is another rather well substantiated intepretation that we have traded the appearance of legisative success for a huge problem in 2012.

[kentuck]

13. I agree it may be premature to declare any great success.

"If there was a win for the Democrats, it was the wall of opposition that was torn down."

But I think it is worth taking note that the Republican solidarity has finally failed Mitch McConnell.

I do think the DADT is an historic legislative victory for all.

[sofa king]

15. I know nobody is going to remember this in two years, but...

To use a shooting-forward analogy, the President and Senate Democrats can hold the tax ball completely out of reach of the Republican guard until the clock runs out. And every time they foul for the next two years, we get to take a shot at them.

Every Republican is tagged with the onus of having held our tax cuts hostage to enrich the already rich. The matter is not going to come up again for the Republicans in the Senate to redeem themselves. We get to flog them over the head with that for two years.

Not to mention the fun we're going to have when House teabaggers submit batshit crazy bills, try to play di-tee with every iPhone owning madam in DC, and pose with Klansmen in the House offices.

It's gonna be a f%$^in' circus, and I can't wait to watch it unfold in all its detail, just as the President and Democrats in the Senate have scripted it.

[sadbear]

6. Some GOP senators get it.

The ones from New England. But they'll get teabagged for their transgressions, won't they?

[Imajika]

8. It is mostly because the election is over...

Some Republicans, such as Bennett of Utah and Voinovich of Ohio, will be gone and feel free to vote however they like. Many conservative Democrats are either gone or no longer feel constrained by the elections so they too can vote however they like.

It wasn't all Republicans holding things up, much of the problems were with moderate and conservative Democrats afraid to deal with tough issues till after the elections - think Blanche Lincoln for example.

[n2doc]

9. Get back to me in 4 months when the debt ceiling is reached n/t

[kentuck]

11. You are right.

That is the next big battle. Repubs will demand cuts in every program that helps people, even Social Security. Will they shut down the government? I'm sure that will be the debate.

[sofa king]

16. But again, that works for us.

One of the more annoying aftereffects of the Bush years are dozens of crummy offices and kickback programs designed, among other things, to give Patrick Henry graduates jobs in the Executive Branch. President Obama may start tightening his own belt by proposing to cut out the Bush staybehind offices and programs, and their employees, if he can.

It also allows Democrats in Congress the chance to kill off earmarks, which after nearly ten years of mostly Republican control are heavily directed toward supporting individual Republican constituencies.

Because the Republicans control only one half of Congress, and the less powerful one at that, they can't threaten to hold our credit hostage and defend all the malignancies they themselves inserted into our system at the same time. So we'll propose to cut that stuff first, and that will hurt them badly whatever they decide to do.

You see, there's two babies in the tub, and if one of them crawls on top of the other, that's the one that's gonna get pulled out first, while the other one drowns. We're the baby on top.

[lunatica]

12. They've lost their number 1 wedge issue so now they flounder wildly

The "Gay Agenda" issue was good to them. Now they must find something else. They're going to lose the "Illegal Aliens are dropping babies" soon, and they're stuck with a bunch of Teabaggers with half the IQ of dimwits. They don't know it yet but their party is never going to be the same again.

[deaniac21]

14. We'll see if the real thing is the same as the lame duck.