stephanie
10-15-2008, 11:06 AM
By Jared Allen
Posted: 10/14/08 07:48 PM [ET]
Three weeks before the election, Barack Obama is going through something of a dress rehearsal for his first 100 days in office.
Buoyed by a slew of recent polls showing that the economy has boosted Obama (Ill.) and Democrats in the House and Senate, Democratic leaders in Congress are aggressively posturing to steamroll Republicans over the economy in the coming weeks.
Obama’s unveiling of an economic recovery package on Monday that was closely coordinated with leaders on Capitol Hill amid the nation’s financial crisis represented a passing of the torch for the Democratic Party.
In the wake of its devastating 2004 electoral losses, the Democratic Party was scrambling for its identity. After Democrats grabbed control of Congress two years later, the faces of the party became House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Now, following a bitter primary and concerns raised in Democratic circles about their candidate’s experience, the party is sold on Obama — much more than it was on Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) four years ago.
And while they have made it clear that they want Obama in the driver’s seat, congressional Democrats are providing the horsepower for a potential $300 billion economic stimulus bill that could be five times the size of the package approved by the House in September. They’re calling it an “economic recovery” plan instead of a stimulus, and would fill it with Democratic priorities ranging from an extension of unemployment benefits to infrastructure spending.
SNIP:
We keep talking about a lame duck, but after the election there’s almost less of an incentive to do much, especially with this president still in office,” a senior Democratic leadership aide said. “Aside from talking about this now, I’m not sure there’s much we do after the election except holding the hearings and, hopefully, preparing to work with President Obama.”
But Democrats may have a bargaining chip to play with the White House, in the form of the stalled Colombia free trade agreement, a huge priority for Bush. It could be moved with an economic stimulus plan and legislation overhauling the trade adjustment assistance program that helps American workers who lose their jobs due to trade.
“Trade adjustment and Colombia could be used as a bargaining chip with the White House,” the leadership aide said. “That is, if that’s even the route we want to go.”
Such a move would draw protests from AFL-CIO, which strongly opposes the Colombia trade deal.
Organized labor has launched intensive efforts to elect Obama and bolster Democratic majorities in Congress.
read it all here..
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-first-100-days-start-early-2008-10-14_2.html
Posted: 10/14/08 07:48 PM [ET]
Three weeks before the election, Barack Obama is going through something of a dress rehearsal for his first 100 days in office.
Buoyed by a slew of recent polls showing that the economy has boosted Obama (Ill.) and Democrats in the House and Senate, Democratic leaders in Congress are aggressively posturing to steamroll Republicans over the economy in the coming weeks.
Obama’s unveiling of an economic recovery package on Monday that was closely coordinated with leaders on Capitol Hill amid the nation’s financial crisis represented a passing of the torch for the Democratic Party.
In the wake of its devastating 2004 electoral losses, the Democratic Party was scrambling for its identity. After Democrats grabbed control of Congress two years later, the faces of the party became House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Now, following a bitter primary and concerns raised in Democratic circles about their candidate’s experience, the party is sold on Obama — much more than it was on Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) four years ago.
And while they have made it clear that they want Obama in the driver’s seat, congressional Democrats are providing the horsepower for a potential $300 billion economic stimulus bill that could be five times the size of the package approved by the House in September. They’re calling it an “economic recovery” plan instead of a stimulus, and would fill it with Democratic priorities ranging from an extension of unemployment benefits to infrastructure spending.
SNIP:
We keep talking about a lame duck, but after the election there’s almost less of an incentive to do much, especially with this president still in office,” a senior Democratic leadership aide said. “Aside from talking about this now, I’m not sure there’s much we do after the election except holding the hearings and, hopefully, preparing to work with President Obama.”
But Democrats may have a bargaining chip to play with the White House, in the form of the stalled Colombia free trade agreement, a huge priority for Bush. It could be moved with an economic stimulus plan and legislation overhauling the trade adjustment assistance program that helps American workers who lose their jobs due to trade.
“Trade adjustment and Colombia could be used as a bargaining chip with the White House,” the leadership aide said. “That is, if that’s even the route we want to go.”
Such a move would draw protests from AFL-CIO, which strongly opposes the Colombia trade deal.
Organized labor has launched intensive efforts to elect Obama and bolster Democratic majorities in Congress.
read it all here..
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-first-100-days-start-early-2008-10-14_2.html