Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
But you do understand that they are now just dealing with the left-overs. Essentially the meat of the day was put on the table by the Dems. The Conf Comm is juggling around the last few pieces and tweaking it, since the Dems are 6-4 it really does not matter what the Repubs want. I do believe it is set up that way for a reason. Maybe you assume there will be a lot of compromise, I do not.
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Of course it is set up that way for a reason...it always has and always will. The majoirty party has a majority on the conference committee. In this case, 3Ds and 2Rs from the Senate and 3Ds and 2Rs from the House. Why is that so shocking?
Compromise doesnt mean an equal voice or the same number of seats at the table when you are the minority party.
I thought Obama and the Democratic leadership went the extra mile by ensuring that a significant portion of the stimulus bill (1/3 of total) met the Republican demands for tax cuts and against the wishes of the more liberal wing of the Democratic party who wanted nearly all spending.
I dont think the Republicans would have been satisfied until it was the other way around: 2/3 tax cuts and 1/3 spenidng. .
So lets not pretend that the Republicans were willing to compromise and the Democrats were not.
The Democrats are the majority in part because the voters did not want the same old policies and solutions.
In the end, you are right...the Democrats have more ownship of this bill. If it works, they get the credit. If it fails, they get the blame.
Repubilcans are already suggesting it will be a 2010 campaign issue. IMO, its a little too soon for that and a risky strategy for Republicans, giving the preception to some thay they prefer being obstructionists rather than contributing to consens building.