Abdication of governance – courtesy of We the People

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Gridlock | Photo 02

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Washington Post’s Ezra Klein writes:

1. Republican control the House

2. Democrats control the Senate

3. Democrats run the Executive Branch

4. Government is in paralysis

5. American citizens need a corrected economy and improved government

Little will get done much less improved because We the People delivered and ungovernable set of circumstances. Being a one term President, Obama should show us his stuff as the big community organizer. If he can at last lead this mess, people might want him to stick around, that is if he really wants to.

https://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&shva=1#inbox/12c117d199684bd1

“Welcome to gridlocked America: The GOP is on track to win about 65 seats in the House of Representatives, and 47 or 48 in the Senate. This is a huge victory: the Republican House majority will be the largest since 1928. But it is not a governing majority, even on the congressional level. Democrats still hold the upper chamber. In fact, Harry Reid still leads the upper chamber.

From the perspective of actually getting anything done in the next two years, there was perhaps no worse outcome. Republicans don't fully control Congress, so they don't have enough power to be blamed for legislative outcomes. But Democrats don't control the House and they don't have a near-filibuster proof majority in the Senate, so they can't pass legislation. Republicans, in other words, are not left with the burden of governance, and Democrats are not left with the power to govern. Republicans don't have to be responsible, and Democrats can't do it for them.

For the time being, this means that the gains of Obama's first two years are probably safe. Health-care repeal will not pass the Senate, and if Republicans attempt to defund the program, it will be the House acting on its own -- a less tenable position than the Congress acting against the executive. It is also difficult to see major new stimulus programs -- for instance, a payroll-tax holiday -- finding backers in Congress, as Republicans will not be able to take full credit for them. This will be, instead, a time of implementation for the White House, oversight for the House, and paralysis for the Senate. As for getting the economy back on track, that's now Ben Bernanke's job, whether he wants it or not.”