Congress returns, ready for confrontation
Democrats target war, domestic issues
By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff | September 4, 2007
WASHINGTON - After failing to push through their most important priorities in the last congressional session, Democratic leaders return to the capital today feeling increasing pressure to confront President Bush on the war in Iraq, terrorism, and domestic policy. Many Democratic senators and representatives spent the long, hot August recess listening to voters and party activists back home who are enraged that the party did not find a way to rein in a deeply unpopular war after taking control on Capitol Hill last fall. The combination of conservative opposition and the disappointment of many liberals has pushed Congress's approval rating lower even than Bush's in most polls.
Many Democrats are preparing to take combative stances on the war and domestic issues, according to members of Congress and aides to senior party leaders. Among the most significant battles on the horizon, aides to House and Senate leaders say, will be responding to General David Petraeus's highly anticipated report on the troop surge in Iraq due next week, vetting Bush's nominee to replace Alberto Gonzales, and pushing to expand health insurance for low-income children. "Voters want the Congress to be very aggressive in confronting the Bush administration, and that is what the Democrats intend on doing," said Representative Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat who is a senior party leader and confidant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Bush, too, seemed to be gearing up for a season of confrontation yesterday during his surprise visit to Iraq, when he said decisions about troop levels "will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground - not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media."... But it is not clear if the Democratic legislators will have any more ammunition than they did in the last session, given that they hold such a slim majority, and in light of the muddy picture that is emerging on whether security or the political situation has improved in Iraq in recent months. "It's not going to be pretty," said Stephen Hess, a political analyst and professor at George Washington University. "I see lots of noise and speechifying
, but I don't see a breakthrough."
While the Iraq debate is likely to overshadow all else, the party plans to introduce legislation restoring the habeas corpus rights of terrorism suspects and to hold new hearings questioning the president's domestic wiretapping program... Many liberal voters, whose passion helped the Democrats take Congress, are seething, both over Democrats' willingness to compromise with Bush on war funding after failing to override his veto of a troop-withdrawal plan last spring, and over their decision before leaving for recess to allow some forms of domestic spying. "Congress has totally missed the boat," said Wilbur Jenkins, 81, a World War II veteran and retired city employee in Manchester, N.H., at an August house party there for Senator Hillary Clinton. "They've had several opportunities to pass meaningful legislation , and they've rolled over," added Jenkins, who volunteered last fall to help elect New Hampshire's freshman Democratic Representative Carol Shea-Porter...
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/09/04/congress_returns_ready_for_confrontation/
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Once again, the Democratic-controlled Congress sharpens their plastic swords to fight Bush...
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