John Dean: Are Congressional Wars Coming? Capitol Hill says yes

[sabra]

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20061201.html

Are Congressional Wars Coming? Since Cheney Has Already Said He'll Ignore the Democratic Congress, It Seems Likely
By JOHN W. DEAN

<snip>

What Should the Democrats Do If The Bush Administration Stonewalls Them?

Rumblings on Capitol Hill suggest that Republicans may literally be "out of control" as the minority party. Many Republicans in Congress are upset that they will lose their perks, and they want to punish the Democrats for winning. In addition, the White House believes its conservative base wants it to make life difficult for the Democrat Congress, so they will assist in doing just that.

The word on K Street is also that making life difficult for Congressional Democrats will help Republicans win the White House and Congress in 2008. As one well-connected Republican attorney in Washington told me: "We see a war coming on Capitol Hill." In fact, many Congressional Republicans believe they are better at being opponents than proponents, so they look forward to raising hell.

Since Democrats are going to encountering some major stonewalling, when they try to pursue oversight of the Bush Administration, this raises two key questions: What should the Democrats do in response to the stonewalling, and how should they do it?

Answering these questions will be the subject of my next column.

[originalpckelly]

1. See this post for what we should do if they don't start talking:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2840238

[warrens]

2. Start the war on K St.

They're all right-wing scum anyway, who hire a token Dem when they think they have to.

Jailable offense for a paid lobbyist to approach any member of Congress. Period. Watch the cockaroaches scatter to actual productive jobs, assuming they can find one.

[Nite Owl]

3. One of the reasons that the dems

got the majority was because people wanted oversight so they should do what needs to be done. The repukes are indeed good at opposing and the dems had better learn real fast how to put them on the defensive and stop with the 'my good friend from the other side of the aisle' garbage. No deals especially in the House, the Senate will be harder since the majority is so slim and Lieberman doesn't really count.

[longship]

4. Insightful article.

Recommended and kicked.

[malaise]

12. Bring it on Rethugs

CSpan will need more channels.
SOmeone needs to tell them that they lost the elections.

[Mythsaje]

5. Investigations!

Maybe Congress needs to create its own investigator's office.

[SpiralHawk]

6. republicons: "We are free to be a--holes because we're special."

"We are saved already, and we know it."

- Special ethics for special people, the 'special' Cons

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. Yeah, Repuglicans are special....

"Short bus" special, that is. I have never seen such a bunch of whiney, spoiled brats.

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Luckily, the reverse is true for us.

We're better at governing than being an opposition party.

[Poiuyt]

9. This doesn't surprise me in the slightest

Republicans say that Democrats should be more bipartisan, yet they haven't compromised on anything since Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House. I fully expect them to vote en masse against everything the Democrats propose.

[samfishX]

10. Good Lord! What a Bunch Of Children!

This needs to be on the front page of every paper in the country:

Rumblings on Capitol Hill suggest that Republicans may literally be "out of control" as the minority party. Many Republicans in Congress are upset that they will lose their perks, and they want to punish the Democrats for winning. In addition, the White House believes its conservative base wants it to make life difficult for the Democrat Congress, so they will assist in doing just that.

People NEED to know just how low and vile the Republicans have truly become.

[spag68]

11. The best thing for

the Dems. is for the rethugs to try to do just that. At some point the public will realize that as the Dems. try to make government work, the rethugs just try to drag it all down. The people want to see work get done, and if the Dems. do that it will work out.

[roamer65]

13. Good. Let them be obstructionists.

They'll get whacked even harder in 2008.