"Why did Republicans go to the trouble and expense of winning the midterm elections? It looks like they're about to prove, once again, that you can get your way in Washington without a congressional majority - if you have a firm sense of purpose. Maybe the Democratic Party will find one someday.
Or maybe not. Sigh.
What has me exercised - okay, frothing - is the ongoing fight over the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which are set to expire at the end of the year. By all rights, this shouldn't be a fight at all. The Republican position is so ludicrous that it beggars belief.
...So why is there even an argument? Certainly not because of any statement "the American people" might have made in last month's election. Every poll I've seen indicates that the Democrats still have public opinion on their side. They also hold the presidency and big majorities in Congress - and even in January they'll still control the White House and the Senate. Yet not only is there an argument over the tax cuts, but Republicans are also seen as having the upper hand.
That's because the GOP has been disciplined and purposeful in pursuit of its goals. I happen to think those goals are cynical, situational and ultimately bad for the country: Block the Democrats whenever and wherever possible, try to limit President Obama to a single term, and prevent any meaningful departure from the trickle-down economic philosophy that has left the nation's finances in such a parlous state. It's an agenda that may lack nobility, but not clarity.
What is the Democratic Party's bottom line? Who knows?..."
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