“He might be able to work a
calculus problem better than I can. But he can’t legislate better than I can.” Senator
Reid talking about Ted Cruz. One might
think that after having the government shut down and giving the entire nation a
heart attack about running out of money that Senators have very little to brag
and be high and might about . Now that the crisis has been averted it would
make sense that congress as a whole would try and lay low and actually do their
jobs but it seems the constant bickering and belittling of each other is
getting old. “I hope they’ve learned a lesson. The American
people will not put up with that. And if this happens again, I don’t think it
will, but if it does, I think the House of Representatives will go Democratic,”
Reid said. This is a very telling quote of our current political system right
now, its just that everything is about winning. There is no cooperation and the
only real losers are the American people. There is a difference between
furthering political ambitions and being a pretentious ass. Congress needs to
rise to the occasion and do their jobs. Hopefully in the next couple weeks
things will go back to normal and instead of talking shutdown actual
legislation will be voted on and passed. [i]
Sunday, October 20, 2013
With government back online, Fitzpatrick seeks to prevent future shutdowns
At long last, the
seemingly endless government shutdown has finally come to a close. This past Wednesday night, Congress finally
passed legislation that would reopen our government, which was signed by
President Obama.[1] This brought an end to the fifteen day
shutdown, allowing numerous governmental workers and services to resume their
normal functions.
According to
Fitzpatrick, this was made possible only through the compromises both sides
were willing to concede:
“The House compromise would make Congress and the President’s appointees
live under Obamacare, it would include income verification for Obamacare
subsidies which the President has waived, and, chips away at the job-crushing
medical device tax. Both Democrats and Republicans have voted for
these. Why would anybody negotiating in good faith oppose these
provisions which have wide bipartisan support?”[2]
Fitzpatrick
has long emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation in the resolution of
the shutdown. This is a prime example of
both sides making some concessions to the other in order to bypass the impasse
we found ourselves at. Both sides
realized their initial goals (for the Republicans, to remove Obamacare
completely while the Democrats wanted it left untouched) simply were
unattainable. As a result, we see each
side yield to a degree to the other. As Fitzpatrick
puts it, the perceived negative effects of Obamacare may not have been
eliminated completely, but they at least were mitigated.
Another quote
from Fitzpatrick, however, may be even more significant than the last:
“The government shutdown was an entirely
avoidable crisis - not only if leaders at the highest levels would have taken
an interest in negotiating, but also if we had a legislative measure to prevent
it. That’s what the Government Shutdown Prevention Act [3]does. I cosponsored this bill back in March and it
could have been a proactive way to stop the cycle of governing by crisis.”[4]
Clearly, Fitzpatrick believes this whole
predicament could have been avoided. While
the lack of cooperation that allowed this situation to develop in the first
place should have never occurred, the fact that it did shows that measures must
be taken to prevent another crisis such as this from happening again.
All of this is reflective of the
widespread feelings of not only Fitzpatrick’s constituents, but those of the
nation as a whole. We have seen numerous
examples of the poor esteem Americans currently hold Congress in (perhaps
expressed most entertainingly in the following clip[5])
and it is only natural for Fitzpatrick to want to avoid being lumped together
with the “other” Congressmen that were a part of this problem. By taking these measures, he is admitting
that Congressmen can’t be trusted to avoid crises such as these of their own
accord and is making it clear to his constituents that he is supporting true
efforts to avoid letting such an unpopular and potentially harmful shutdown
from ever occurring again.
The Elephants Make an "Ass" of Themselves
For the past few weeks tensions in Congress have been escalating not only between parties but within parties. The government was facing a major economic crisis, threatening to default on its loans. While many within the House and Senate wished to reach a deal, there were a few members, mainly Tea Party extremists, who refused to approve any bill without some form of damage being done to the Health Care Act. The rift that was created between members within the Republican Party allowed Timothy Bishop and the Democrats to gain support for their cause, as they stayed firm and true to their cause under a united front. Using data obtained from non-partisan economists, the Democrats put major pressure on Republicans to pass a deal and avoid default. “It is reckless and irresponsible for the House GOP to threaten the full
faith and credit of the United States and our economic recovery with
political gamesmanship,” said Congressman Bishop. “They are threatening
the future by pushing for default despite the enormous financial strain
it would place on New York families, from higher interest rates for
mortgages and credit cards to evaporating retirement savings and delayed
Social Security payments.” This quote was accompanied by a website which showed what would happen if a deal wasn't completed in time. In calling out the GOP, he is telling people that it is strictly their fault for the mess the country was in and that the GOP did not care for the individual waiting for his SS check, but rather just wanted to make a point.
Fortunately for the United States, a deal was reached before the deadline. Timothy Bishop and the Democrats of the House voted unanimously along with 87 Republicans to pass the bill, and bipartisan support occurred in the Senate as well. The bill passed extended the debt limit through Feb. 7, back pays for federal workers, and reimburses States who paid for government functions during the shutdown, along with various other points. The passing of the bill and extension of the debt limit is a major win for the Democrats, as it was achieved without any damage being done to "Obama Care." At the same time it gave them a stable base on which they were united. On the other hand the Republicans clearly lost, as not only did they not delay Obama Care, but they showed they were divided within their own party, and that the extreme Tea Party must either be willing to work together or face alienation from more moderate party members. Now that a Bill has been passed, Timothy Bishop took shots not just at the Republicans, but mainly at the Tea Party for their unwillingness to work together. "...The Tea Party faction running the House GOP recklessly decided to take the American economy hostage for 16 days. As a result of their opposition to reasonable solutions and failure to negotiate in good faith, the unanimous support of Democrats in the House was necessary to enact this agreement." In attacking the Tea Party specifically, Timothy Bishop hopes a "villain" can be blamed for this crisis, and ultimately be removed. "The Tea Party have shown themselves incapable of cooperating not only with Democrats but also moderates in their own party to find common sense solutions."
In attacking the Republicans and ultimately the Tea Party, Timothy Bishop is directing blame toward them and away from he and his fellow Democrats. They will continue to show how they stood firm and untied against the unreasonable Republicans, and how they fought to keep this nation afloat amidst major crisis. No doubt Timothy Bishops continued assault against the Republicans is due to the election he faces next year, having narrowly won the past few times, he will use this as another cog in his Congressional campaign.
http://timbishop.house.gov/latest-news/bishop-helps-pass-bipartisan-agreement-to-end-shutdown-and-prevent-default/
http://timbishop.house.gov/latest-news/bishop-calls-for-reasonable-solution-to-avoid-harmful-debt-default/
Fortunately for the United States, a deal was reached before the deadline. Timothy Bishop and the Democrats of the House voted unanimously along with 87 Republicans to pass the bill, and bipartisan support occurred in the Senate as well. The bill passed extended the debt limit through Feb. 7, back pays for federal workers, and reimburses States who paid for government functions during the shutdown, along with various other points. The passing of the bill and extension of the debt limit is a major win for the Democrats, as it was achieved without any damage being done to "Obama Care." At the same time it gave them a stable base on which they were united. On the other hand the Republicans clearly lost, as not only did they not delay Obama Care, but they showed they were divided within their own party, and that the extreme Tea Party must either be willing to work together or face alienation from more moderate party members. Now that a Bill has been passed, Timothy Bishop took shots not just at the Republicans, but mainly at the Tea Party for their unwillingness to work together. "...The Tea Party faction running the House GOP recklessly decided to take the American economy hostage for 16 days. As a result of their opposition to reasonable solutions and failure to negotiate in good faith, the unanimous support of Democrats in the House was necessary to enact this agreement." In attacking the Tea Party specifically, Timothy Bishop hopes a "villain" can be blamed for this crisis, and ultimately be removed. "The Tea Party have shown themselves incapable of cooperating not only with Democrats but also moderates in their own party to find common sense solutions."
In attacking the Republicans and ultimately the Tea Party, Timothy Bishop is directing blame toward them and away from he and his fellow Democrats. They will continue to show how they stood firm and untied against the unreasonable Republicans, and how they fought to keep this nation afloat amidst major crisis. No doubt Timothy Bishops continued assault against the Republicans is due to the election he faces next year, having narrowly won the past few times, he will use this as another cog in his Congressional campaign.
http://timbishop.house.gov/latest-news/bishop-helps-pass-bipartisan-agreement-to-end-shutdown-and-prevent-default/
http://timbishop.house.gov/latest-news/bishop-calls-for-reasonable-solution-to-avoid-harmful-debt-default/
A Crisis Averted and New Blood in the Senate
After sixteen days of the federal government being shutdown and skirting right up against the debt ceiling Congress finally passed a bill containing a continuing resolution for the budget and raised the debt ceiling on Wednesday. Senator Menendez, along with eighty other members of the Senate, voted to pass the bill which raised the debt ceiling and reopen the government (Herman). Menendez praised the deal; not only for reopening the government and avoiding default but also for laying the groundwork for future budget negotiations (Herman). Every democratic member of the New Jersey delegation to Congress voted to pass the bill, along with many of the republicans from New Jersey. Menendez had been a vocal supporter of passing a continuing resolution and raising the debt ceiling during the sixteen day shutdown, criticizing republicans for causing and prolonging the shutdown.
Senator Menendez will soon have a new colleague in the Senate from New Jersey. This week a special election was held for New Jersey's other Senate seat, in response to Senator Chiesa retiring, in which Newark Mayor Cory Booker won. Menendez had campaigned for and with Booker during the election (Bergan Dispatch). With Booker's election New Jersey will become the first state to have both its Senate seats occupied by minority lawmakers at the same time. Menendez acknowledged this in a statement congratulating Booker on his election where he said, "As the first Hispanic American senator from New Jersey, I join New Jerseyans in celebrating the historic election of Cory Booker, the first African American senator from our state I’m proud that we have shown America that our state — and by extension our politics — is, indeed, a melting pot" (Giambusso).
Sources:
Herman, Malia. New Jersey Republicans back deal to end shutdown, avert debt crisis. Asbury Park Press. Posted October 17th, 2013. http://www.app.com/article/C0/20131016/NJNEWS1002/310160052/New-Jersey-Republicans-back-deal-end-shutdown-avert-debt-crisis?nclick_check=1
DNC Chair and Senator Menendez To Join Booker On Campaign Trail. The Bergen Dispatch. Posted October 13th, 2013. http://www.bergendispatch.com/articles/29505425/DNC-Chair-and-Sen-Menendez-To-Join-Booker-On-Campaign-Trail.aspx
Giambusso, David. Booker and Menendez form historic duo as first black and Latino senators from the same state. NJ.com. Posted October 20th, 2013. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/booker_and_menendez_form_historic_duo_as_first_
black_and_latino_senators_from_the_same_state.html
Senator Menendez will soon have a new colleague in the Senate from New Jersey. This week a special election was held for New Jersey's other Senate seat, in response to Senator Chiesa retiring, in which Newark Mayor Cory Booker won. Menendez had campaigned for and with Booker during the election (Bergan Dispatch). With Booker's election New Jersey will become the first state to have both its Senate seats occupied by minority lawmakers at the same time. Menendez acknowledged this in a statement congratulating Booker on his election where he said, "As the first Hispanic American senator from New Jersey, I join New Jerseyans in celebrating the historic election of Cory Booker, the first African American senator from our state I’m proud that we have shown America that our state — and by extension our politics — is, indeed, a melting pot" (Giambusso).
Sources:
Herman, Malia. New Jersey Republicans back deal to end shutdown, avert debt crisis. Asbury Park Press. Posted October 17th, 2013. http://www.app.com/article/C0/20131016/NJNEWS1002/310160052/New-Jersey-Republicans-back-deal-end-shutdown-avert-debt-crisis?nclick_check=1
DNC Chair and Senator Menendez To Join Booker On Campaign Trail. The Bergen Dispatch. Posted October 13th, 2013. http://www.bergendispatch.com/articles/29505425/DNC-Chair-and-Sen-Menendez-To-Join-Booker-On-Campaign-Trail.aspx
Giambusso, David. Booker and Menendez form historic duo as first black and Latino senators from the same state. NJ.com. Posted October 20th, 2013. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/booker_and_menendez_form_historic_duo_as_first_
black_and_latino_senators_from_the_same_state.html
Dent Knows What He's Talkin About
The government shutdown has finally come to an end; for now
that is. Congress passed a bill to keep the government running through January
15th of 2014 and lift the debt ceiling through February 7th
(CBS News, 2013). Throughout this whole process, Dent has been making national
news. While some has been good and other has been bad, Dent hasn’t changed his
position on the government shutdown. He stated from the start that he would not
vote on any bill to shut down the government (CNN, 2013). Even though he voted
on the original funding bill involving the defunding of Obamacare, that seemed
to be more of a symbolic move. When the actual vote that caused the government
shutdown occurred, Dent strongly voted against it. As the shutdown progressed,
Dent became more and more active in trying to get other members of his party to
vote on a clean bill to re-open the government. This is when other members of
his own party started calling him a hypocrite or “a republican only in name.”
In a few of my earlier posts, I mentioned the alleged hypocrisy of Dent by his
own party. But in the midst of what has occurred in the government in the past
few days, I think that Dent came out as one of the Congressmen on top. In the
end, the House voted on a bill as close to clean as it could get with a 285-144
vote (CBS News, 2013). Being that the House Republicans have the majority
(232-200), this means that even if all the democrats voted for the bill, at
least a total of 85 Republicans would have had to give in and sign the bill (Office
of the Clerk, 2013). This number may not be exact, but it gives you a glimpse
of the fact that more republicans other than Dent and the few others that spoke
out ended up compromising and voting on this semi-clean bill. Therefore, this
makes it look like Dent knew what he was talking about all along. He’s been
saying this entire time that the Republicans needs to compromise and sign a
bill to keep the government going, but instead of listening right away many
Republicans gave Charlie a lot of crap. Many of those same Republicans could
have been the ones who ended up voting for that clean bill. As one of Charlie’s
constituents myself, I think it makes Charlie look extremely educated and
allows me to put more trust in him as my representative.
As Richard Fenno said in his book The
American Congress Reader, Dent was conducting in what is referred to as
“Home Style” (Fenno, 1977). Fenno claims that representatives are always
conducting 2 activities: presentation of self and explaining Washington
activity (Fenno, 1977). Dent very obviously conducted in both of these activities
throughout the past few weeks. He took to national news to explain to not just
his own constituents, but the nation as a whole, what was going on in Congress
in the midst of the government shut down (CNN, 2013). Even though his
interviews and statements may have been biased to his opinion, they still gave
the American people and especially his constituents, who know him well, an idea
of what he and the rest of the Congressmen are doing in Washington. But most
importantly, Dent has definitely been conducting in the action Fenno refers to
as “presentation of one self” (Fenno, 1977). This action thoroughly involves
getting constituents to know and like you, but most importantly it’s about getting
constituents to trust you (Fenno, 1977). It is fairly easy getting people to
like you and know your name by just making appearances and telling people what
they like to hear. But actually trusting representatives is a much harder task,
especially when 82.5 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress (Real Clear
Politics, 2013) and 47% of Americans prefer dog poop over Congress (The Raw
Story, 2013). Although not an easy task, it seems that situations like the
government shutdown can make or break people’s trust of their representatives.
For Charlie, it would seem to me that trust from his constituents should
increase. Charlie stuck with his view and it ended up being the one that
Congress agreed on in the end. He had been saying from the start that Republicans
needed to compromise and pass the clean bill, and through all the smack he went
through, he ended up being right all along. This could prove very good for all
the problems it seemed Charlie could face in 2014. One of the main issues was
that after Charlie deviated from his party, the Republicans could fund another
candidate to run against him in the primary. But this seems like a long shot
now, since Charlie’s party did end up compromising. He pleased his constituents
and his party doesn’t seem too angry anymore, therefore Dent must be getting
pretty good at this dual nature of politics thing. And in the process, he
basically came a celebrity!!!!!
For a really interesting interview with Dent, click the link
below!
References:
Richard F. Fenno, Jr. 1977. “U.S. House Members in their
Constituencies: An Exploration” American
Political Science Review 71: 883-917.
An Overshadowing of Something Good
An Overshadowing of Something Good
Earlier this week, Barbara Boxer advertised her disapproval
of conservative Tea Party advocate Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
over Bachmann’s expressed joy of the closing of the government during the
2-week shutdown that commenced in a last-minute resolution. The comments Boxer referenced, Bachmann gave
during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.[1] Boxer has been critical of the Republican Party,
as I referenced in my previous post, during the shut-down because of her post
as chairman on the committee that oversees the EPA, an agency that has not fared
well with the GOP. Conservatives, angry
about the amount of press Boxer’s own criticism of the GOP have been gaining,
returned fire, targeting metaphorical comments Boxer made on the house floor
comparing Congress’s actions about prolonging the shut-down to domestic
abuse. The comments read,
“I
never questioned, never questioned the fact that Republicans, Democrats and
independents love this country. Love this country. I never questioned it. But I
have to say, when you start acting like you’re committing domestic abuse,
you’ve got a problem. ‘I love you dear, but you know, I’m shutting down your
entire government. I love you dear, but I’m going to default and you’re going
to be weak.’ Something is dreadfully wrong…” [2]
Boxer was struck on two sides, from Texas Republican
Governor Rick Perry, and from Elisabeth Hasselbeck, host of the Fox News
program “Fox and Friends”. Both
conservative figures condemned Boxer for insulting victims of domestic abuse, with
Hasselbeck asserting, “Millions of women out there who now have their situation
trivialized over politics?” [3] The emphasis of Hasselbeck was in the under-coverage
of comments by a liberal media that failed to bring attention to the comments
because Boxer is a democrat.[4] The entire unraveling of events is simply
political name-calling, stemming from the political games that resulted from
the deadlock ensuing from the government-shut-down. On the greater scale, this negative press
coverage is mere distraction from proposed legislation Boxer is rallying
support for in the Senate to change the process through which the debt-ceiling
is raised. The new procedure would have the
proposal to increase the limit originate in the White House as opposed to
Congress.[5] Boxer’s aim is to prevent the political games
that resulted when the GOP attempted to use the debt-ceiling as leverage to
defund Obamacare. The storm of name
calling has overshadowed Boxer’s proposed legislation, which has gained scant
support in Congress, most likely over the hesitancy to hand over certain powers
of the purse. More to come on Boxer’s
preventative legislation!
[1] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/boxer-skewers-bachmann-for-being-happy-over-shutdown/
[2] http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/rick-perry-barbara-boxer-98318.html
[3] http://www.mediaite.com/tv/foxs-hasselbeck-calls-out-media-silence-after-barbara-boxer-trivialized-domestic-violence/
[4]
Ibid.
[5] http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/10/18/3560031/boxers-bill-aims-to-take-debt.html
The government may be open, but the tensions have not come to a close.....
After sixteen days, the government shutdown has officially ended, and Congress can finally move on from their debates about the shutdown to other issues. Even though they have come to an agreement, the bipartisan tensions can still be seen. Congresswoman Nita Lowey issued a statement that displayed her content with the reopening, but still blamed the GOP for the shutdown. “It is incredibly disappointing that Republicans have put our economy and American families at such great risk. I want to ask them: was it worth it?” (http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/10/16/congresswoman-nita-loweys-statement-on-the-government-crisis-resolution/)
While the government has been reopened, it seems like the Democratic agenda is still to bash the Republicans. By citing jarring statistics about the effects of the shutdown that include economic downturn and eight-hundred thousand furloughed federal workers, Lowey, along with the Democratic party, is showing more party loyalty than concern for the country. I think that Lowey’s goal is for people to side with the Democrats; this has become more of a party issue than a national issue as it should be.
With the reopening of the government, Congresswoman Lowey has been “selected by House Democratic leaders as of three House Democratic Members to serve on a conference committee in the wake of a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and avoid an economically disastrous default crisis” (
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/10/17/lowey-one-of-three-dems-named-to-committee-after-budget-crisis/). Lowey’s party clearly has faith in her abilities as a congresswoman; it is interesting to wonder the motives of this appointment but Lowey’s party. Did they appreciate how she handled the government shutdown in terms of her public statements? Do they like her policy ideas about America’s economy? Or do they like her investment in blaming the GOP for the shutdown? Perhaps a little bit of both?
Sources
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/10/16/congresswoman-nita-loweys-statement-on-the-government-crisis-resolution/
Representative Lewis Serving Partisan Role
On Wednesday, the government
shutdown ended after the Senate and the House of Representatives were finally
able to come to agreement. With the debt ceiling approaching on Thursday, the
agreement came at just the right time (Lillis). Representative John Lewis
released this statement regarding his feelings towards the government shutdown,
“It was a shame and a disgrace that the government of the most powerful
nation on earth was recklessly shutdown and allowed to slip perilously close to
default” (John Lewis). Ever since the beginning of the shutdown, Lewis had been
a critic, arguing that the government was failing the people it was supposed to
protect. Although crisis was averted with the agreement to raise the debt
ceiling, Lewis believes that a good amount of damage has already been done,
“Today Standards and Poors released a report estimating $24 billion in damage
to our economy from this unnecessary crisis. Many federal workers, small
businesses and institutions, schools, families, and children have
suffered. We may never fully understand the anguish and uncertainty they
experienced, not knowing when they would get paid or when they would receive
the services they should expect as citizens. We must never let this
happen again. It is irresponsible to govern from crisis to crisis” (John
Lewis). Mr. Lewis also reiterated his belief that government needs to focus on
everyone and not the few, which is why he feels the government shutdown.
During the shutdown, Representative
Lewis was arrested for his actions at a protest for immigration reform. This
past week, Mr. Lewis was in the news again for supporting another immigration
protest. A group of activists protesting immigration reform crossed the U.S.
border into Mexico and then re-entered, knowing that they would be detained.
The group of about 30 was detained, and 12 were released after 2 weeks in
custody. The remaining activists are still being detained and are trying to
show credible fear so that they can be granted asylum. This simply means that
if they are released into Mexico, they will face injury or death. Mr. Lewis was
one of a few members of Congress who wrote a letter and sent his support to the
activists. This continues the support that Mr. Lewis has shown for immigration
reform, including the protest last week. (Alexander)
With this, Representative
Lewis is filling out the partisan role that members of Congress have to act.
Mr. Lewis is a Democrat and one of the main platforms of the Democratic Party includes
immigration reform. In his position as a whip, it is important for
Representative Lewis to show support for party platforms. Mr. Lewis was also
extremely critical of the Republican members of Congress during the government
shutdown, because he felt that they were not willing to come to a fair
agreement. This also shows Mr. Lewis in the partisan role, as he is voicing his
opinion of the Republican party and promoting the idea that they are not doing
their jobs and because of this, the government shutdown happened, which caused
hardships for many Americans. In doing this, Mr. Lewis also promoted the
Democratic party, showing the American people that they were willing to come to
an agreement to avoid the government shutdown. With this, Representative Lewis
was attempted to promote the collective of the Democratic party, not just
himself, which is a part of playing the partisan role.
Sources
1.
John
Lewis; http://johnlewis.house.gov/press-release/rep-john-lewis-end-government-shutdown
2.
Alexander,
Shelby; http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14260/the-journey-to-bringthemhome-continues
3.
Lillis,
Mike; http://thehill.com/homenews/house/328947-dems-cheer-debt-deal-but-worry-about-next-round
Government Reopening Amid Other Issues for Florida Senator
Government Reopening Amid Other Issues for Florida
Senator
Senator Nelson has had an
interesting mixed with issues at home and abroad, some of which intertwined
throughout the course of the week or possibly will intersect shortly
hereafter. Unfortunately for the
Senator, not all (or maybe even not most) of the issues faced this week were
positive or progressive matters that he will be able to rely on in the future.
On the home front, Bill Nelson is
still pushing for legislation that remains close to the hearts of those people
living in Lakeland, Florida. Almost a
month ago, a girl committed suicide thanks to cyber bullies emotionally and
psychologically abusing her. Nelson is
at the forefront of making protections against cyber bullying part of federal
legislation under the proposed Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2013, which “would
mandate that local school districts establish policies that prohibit misconduct
including bullying and harassment. The bill would also require local schools to
collect and publish ‘annual data on the incidence and frequency of that
conduct,’” according to jdnews.com and a quote by Senator Nelson. With this being a large issue both locally
and nationally, Nelson has been continuing the fight for this sort of federal
legislation, in order to help appease his home constituents.
In addition, the
Senator responded to the death of Florida’s longest-serving member of Congress,
Republican Rep. C.W. Bill Young. Even
though he was a republican representative, Senator Nelson had positive things
to say in his memory, and was quoted as saying he (Young) was a proponent of
bipartisan approaches to problems and someone that he will miss working with. Additionally
at home, Senator Nelson has been attacked and been “twitterbomb[ed]” by people
who were angry at his lack of signature on a bill “prohibit[ing] workplace
discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation or gender.”
Bill Nelson, along
with other lawmakers, has been advocating the Department of Labor, the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Service and the State Department to speed up the
issuing and processing of agricultural visas for the seasonal workers who come
to the United States from foreign countries for work. As a state that uses workers of this nature,
Florida would benefit from this potential action, another way for Senator
Nelson to be viewed in a positive light by his local constituents. He says that without this undertaking, crops
could be left to rot, creating a potential food shortage and serious lack of income
for the farmers and landowners who require their crops to be ready for the
seasons ahead.
The biggest news of the week however, was the reopening of
the federal government with a new agreement by both parties and houses of
Congress. Senator Nelson was an
instrumental player with the negotiations as part of a 28-member joint
committee to get the government back on track.
With being so involved in the process of reopening the government, it
came as no surprise that he voted in favor for the new bill that was passed,
however the republican senator from Florida, Marco Rubio voted against it. Senator Nelson when asked about his decision
to support this legislation said: “ “I’m
relieved about this shutdown being over and certainly relieved that we have
avoided a default of the financial integrity of this country, but this never
should have happened in the first place. A couple of senators and a handful of
House extremists have managed to embarrass America in front of the world." With this statement, he managed to support
both his rationale for supporting the spending bills all along and throw
rhetoric into his statements about the blasphemous opposition who halted government
activity.
Sources:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20131018/NEWS/131019113/1374?Title=Shutdown-Affects-Visas-for-Farmworkers&tc=ar
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/republican-rep-cw-bill-young-has-passed-away
http://www.wmfe.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=15137&news_iv_ctrl=1041
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/bill-nelson-paul-ryan-and-joint-budget-committee-take-center-stage-after-debt-ceiling-deal
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/10/bill-nelson-tapped-for-doomed-to-fail-bipartisan-budget-compromise-committee.html
http://www.tbnweekly.com/content_articles/101613_fpg-01.txt
http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2013/10/16/morning-report-twitterbombing-sen-bill-nelson#.UmRAeSTkCms
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/10/sen-marco-rubio-sen-bill-nelson-split-on-wednesdays-final-senate-vote-on-debt-ceiling-.html
http://www.jdnews.com/opinion/our-opinion/fight-cyberbullies-at-local-state-levels-1.221015
Boehner Lost The Battle, But Did He Lose The War?
Boehner Lost The Battle, But Did He Lose The War?
While John Boehner, as he described it, got “overrun” in the budget talks last week, and many believe Boehner was
the biggest loser because he failed to get any of the concessions the
Republicans wanted, even something so small as eliminating the employer
contribution for congressional staffers under the health-care law I believe in
the long run, Boehner will gain from this bad loss. (1)
We argued last week that
Boehner was smart with siding with the tea party conservatives in the defunding
or delaying in the implementation of Obamacare because he would strengthen his
speakership down the road. Rep. (R) John Fleming, a previous critic of Boehner,
said, “His job is more
secure than ever,” Fleming said. Even Rep.
Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), who didn’t vote for Boehner during a failed effort to
oust him in January came to Boehner’s support saying, “I’ve been really proud
of Speaker Boehner the last two and half weeks.” It seems today that by
standing with the hard right conservatives it just might have paid off. (2)
We also argued that
Boehner knew that President Obama and the Democrats would not agree to any such
demands, and eventually, the Republican’s would have to cave and come away with
next to nothing. That’s leverage. The Republicans were asking for the moon and
they had no leverage to ask for it, and the Democrats didn’t blink.
The
reason we believe Boehner played along with the message and fought for what the
far right believed in is because now he has the ability when the next shutdown
looms to argue that the Democrats have confirmed that they won’t be giving into
any of these conditions, and it’s time to fight for actual change that can
occur. This means actual
conversations on the budget deficit, spending limits and the debt ceiling,
something Boehner and many moderates wanted the debates and discussions to be
about. This won’t make GOP conservatives happy, but it will allow the GOP
moderates to have a say in the next debate talks, and it might just mobilize
the party as a whole. The far was has been happy with Boehner, as we noted the
past two weeks, and they might just pave the way for the moderates to have more
of a say. (3)
While
everyone including John Boehner himself said that he lost the battle and got, “overrun,”
he hasn’t lost the war yet, and he will have a chance to win the final war once and for all come January and February when the next shutdown will loom.
1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/who-had-the-worst-week-in-washington-house-speaker-john-boehner/2013/10/18/034339de-37fd-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story.html
2) http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/house-conservatives-john-boehner-default-debt-ceiling-98397.html
3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/10/17/did-barack-obama-do-john-boehner-a-big-favor/
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