The Catastrophes That A GOP-Controlled Congress Would Bring - WaPo

[WillyT]

The catastrophes that a GOP-controlled Congress would bring
By Katrina vanden Heuvel - WaPo
October 21 at 12:20 PM

<snip>

With two weeks to go until the midterms, and with polls pointing to the prospect that Republicans could take control of the Senate, the stakes are high — not just for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, but for the United States. The consequences of Republican control of both the House and Senate could be catastrophic for the environment, workers, women and minorities.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has promised a gathering of donors hosted by the Koch brothers that “We’re not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals .?.?. things like raising the minimum wage .?.?. extending unemployment .?.?. the student loan package.”

And it won’t just be progressive proposals that are stymied. Consider the judges who will never make it to the bench, including the highest, when it is Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and not Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who is in charge of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Consider the destabilizing political circus Republicans will create for the Obama administration and the nation when Rep. Darrell Issa’s hyper-partisan investigations into fake scandals spread from the House to the Senate.

If Republicans take charge of key Senate committees, they will restrict and remake the range of debate. What happens, for example, when Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), formerly president of the right-wing Club for Growth, takes over Sen. Sherrod Brown’s subcommittee that oversees financial institutions and consumer protection? What happens to the Iran nuclear negotiations if McConnell, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) are deciding when to bring up a sanctions bill?
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But a Republican takeover of the Senate is not a threat just because of what Republicans will do. Progressives should also worry about the many areas of potential agreement between the president and a Republican-controlled Senate. It is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), for example, not Republicans, who is denying the president fast-track authority to force corporate trade deals through Congress. Without Reid in the way, “free-trade” pacts like Trans-Pacific Partnership — which labor leaders have called “NAFTA on steroids” — are likely to become the law of the land. Likewise, President Obama and Republicans could agree to pursue lower corporate tax rates — as opposed to infrastructure investments and job creation — as their primary economic-development initiative. And let’s not forget that Obama has repeatedly floated cuts to Social Security as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Republican leaders. Although we believe that the president has many progressive instincts, he has shown an inclination to seek consensus rather than to fight. If Republicans control both chambers of Congress, any consensus will err to the right.

Perhaps the most worrying consequence of a Republican-controlled Senate will be...

<snip>

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-the-catastrophes-that-a-gop-controlled-congress-would-bring/2014/10/21/69358b00-589c-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html

[Dawson Leery]

1. k/r

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Well if the American people want the GOP...there's nothing that can be done

If Americans vote for the GOP, then they deserve to suffer.

I hear Costa Rica is a nice place to live.

[Martin Eden]

8. Do Democratic voters deserve to suffer?

Collective punishment, even for those who strived against the catastrophe.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. Well I will vote for Dems down the ballot and I'm going to suffer as well if America picks the GOP

That's why considering a country like Costa Rica might not be such a bad idea...to avoid the suffering and collective punishment.....

[Martin Eden]

14. Too long of a commute for me. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

15. Sorry...I'm just venting my frustration.

I'm just mad that people want to turn the country over to those assholes.

[Martin Eden]

16. Understandable

It frustrates me to no end that so many voters swallow the propaganda crafted by the one percent dished out by the corporate media and that so many voters abdicate their primary means to get their own government to act in their own best interests.

But millions of us are informed & engaged; we do not deserve to suffer the consequences.

And children who can't vote don't deserve to have their future trashed before their voices can be heard.

[flpoljunkie]

3. 'Vote with a vengeance on November 4', Dems!

In a democracy, there is no such thing as an election without consequences. Many progressives are not satisfied with today’s Democratic Party; they want it to be more populist and progressive. But they also know it is absurd to suggest that there are no differences between the two major parties, and it is madness to suggest that little will change if Republicans take the Senate. A lot will change — and the change will be the worse for women, immigrants, workers and the environment. A Republican Senate, working with a Republican House, will be a wrecking crew. There is only one way to avert the devastation: Vote with a vengeance on Nov. 4.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-the-catastrophes-that-a-gop-controlled-congress-would-bring/2014/10/21/69358b00-589c-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html

[Turbineguy]

4. There seem to be millions of Americans

who would welcome these catastrophes, or at least get what they voted for.

[wandy]

5. I believe I have just read the understatement of all time............

A Republican Senate, working with a Republican House, will be a wrecking crew.

[Wellstone ruled]

6. OOOPS!!!!

Some one didn't get the memo from the TeaBillies. WaPo leaning liberal,say it ain't so.

[calimary]

7. Katrina is always worth the read.

Kicked!

[Dopers_Greed]

10. The only silver lining in this...

A fully Republican Congress is going to fuck things up so badly that it'll go back to Democratic control eventually. Just will probably take a few election cycles.

[L0oniX]

11. In a continuing effort to reach across the aisle Obama will refuse to use veto power?

[MisterP]

12. so her argument is that a GOP Senate would pass too much of what Obama wants

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. How did you get to that ... Nevermind. eom.