Barack Obama has a head start on working with Congress

[babylonsister]

Barack Obama has a head start on working with Congress

The president-elect's team expands on already close ties to gather facts and seek support for his agenda -- a stark contrast to the approaches of his Democratic predecessors.

By Janet Hook and Christi Parsons
November 27, 2008

Reporting from Washington -- As chairman of his party's congressional campaign committee, Rahm Emanuel helped scores of current House Democrats win their seats. When Tom Daschle was the Senate Democratic leader, he funneled more than $1 million to a new generation of lawmakers seeking office.

Now, as key members of Barack Obama's incoming administration, Emanuel and Daschle are using their clout to help build sturdy bridges between the White House and Congress, coordinating their plans well before Inauguration Day.

That effort could produce a remarkable result: Democrats may try to pass an economic stimulus bill before Obama takes office Jan. 20, and have it on his desk to sign immediately. Typically, a new Congress spins its wheels for weeks while awaiting the arrival of a new president after convening in early January.

"We don't intend to stumble into the next administration," Obama said this week. "We are going to hit the ground running. We're going to have clear plans of action."

To that end, emissaries of the president-elect are meeting with every congressional committee chair. Emanuel, who will be Obama's chief of staff, has been dispatched to the Capitol. And Obama, who is running the transition from his home base in Chicago, has been working the phones.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-shadow-government27-2008nov27,0,5300499.story

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Rahm Emanuel Did What?

Seeing as his hand-picked DLC darlings had a worse winning record than did the Democrats overall in 2006, I do believe that Emanuel would be best characterized as *losing* seats for the Dems. Bu he'll make a fine White House bouncer.

[babylonsister]

2. I think you're entirely wrong. Emanuel has been credited with the

majority of successes in the 2006 election. Google it; there's loads of people who give him the credit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

Ultimately the Democratic Party enjoyed considerable success in the 2006 elections, gaining 30 seats in the House. Emanuel has received considerable praise for his stewardship of the DCCC during this election cycle, even from Illinois Republican Rep. Ray LaHood who said "He legitimately can be called the golden boy of the Democratic Party today. He recruited the right candidates, found the money and funded them, and provided issues for them. Rahm did what no one else could do in seven cycles."<31>