Sent to us by AZ GOP National Committeeman
BRUCE ASH
From The Washington Times
By Gary J. Andres
Op-Ed
December 20, 2007
Democrats hear some new sounds inside the Capitol these days. Not accolades for a job well done, but rather vociferous reminders that legislating rarely works as a solo act. When it comes to the lawmaking process, President Bush and his allies on the Hill spoke with louder than anticipated voices and won a host of unanticipated victories...
On a host of issues this year including Iraq war funding, holding the line on domestic discretionary spending, energy legislation, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), keeping the State Children's Health Insurance Program focused on kids and insisting Democrats don't cut senior health benefits by slashing the Medicare Advantage program, the White House and congressional Republicans reshaped legislation and policy with unexpected success. ...
Projecting a louder Republican voice in the legislative arena did not occur overnight. In the heady early days of the new Democratic majority neither side completely understood how the process would unfold. For their part, Democrats underestimated White House tenacity. For example, during the first few months of 2007, as Congress organized and moved legislation through the early stages of the legislative process, veto threats were often viewed as hollow warnings. But now, as many of these issues come to a head, White House and Republican doggedness proved a potent tool in reshaping congressional policy.
"Congressional Democrats did not anticipate the level of Republican and White House resolve on these issues," a senior White House aide told me. "This has been our best three weeks in the last two years." The combination of Republican firmness, Democratic divisions and the desire to go home for the holidays, reasserted the GOP and the president in the lawmaking process in a surprisingly powerful way.
All the hand wringing among disappointed liberals in Washington is causing Democratic fingers to chap. They did not expect the White House or Republicans to bellow so loudly in the legislative arena. Welcome to the world of separation of powers. Those voices will continue through at least next year and Democrats will need to adjust their rhetoric and expectations -- or else continue to look like legislative underperformers. ...
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