What is a Lame Duck Session?
It is the time period where politicians that lost their positions (or retiring) finish up things before they have to GTFO, *ahem* I mean leave. The term originates from an old saying about ducks who couldn't keep up with their flocks, thus becoming easier prey. For our generation, I think we could use another term with the same initials (LD)...be creative now.
Politicians who are Lame Ducks have less power because there is little incentive to work with them. They can't really do much for you. The phone stops ringing, people don't want to see you anymore and you get the boot. So, how would you react?
- Do diddly-squat - The most popular option. I would play video games with my interns alllll day long in the congressional office.
- Take a stand for things you believe in but are politically unpopular - Might as well go out in a blaze of glory, eh? I would probably fight someone on the House floor or challenge them to an air soft gun duel.
Republicans and democrats hate each other for the most part = shit just ain't gonna get done. Unfortunately, there are a few big items that we need to take care of now, like taxes and nuclear weapons agreements with Russia. Here's the breakdown of stuff we just can't avoid, even if our politicians want to be little school yard pansies.
- Bush Tax Cuts - Like any good republican, President Bush gave tax cuts across the board. This was after Clinton's era, where he raised taxes to bring our economy back up to surplus. Democrats, don't get too happy because Clinton also deregulated a lot of the banking/financial services industry...ANYHOW! The democrats want to keep the tax cuts for the middle class and below. The republicans think the tax cuts should stay for everyone, including those who make $250,000 and above. I think the republicans have a good argument about that dollar amount. They say that a lot of those people are small business owners, people who provide half of the jobs in America
- STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty or START - This is our agreement with Russia, saying that both our countries must reduce deployed nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550 within seven years. They want to make changes to the treaty to allow this process to go faster, making our nuclear arsenal more transparent and vice-versa.
This also means that as the democrats lose control of the House and hold only a slight majority in the Senate that they will not be able to pass anything major.
New energy bill? Forget it.
Environmental...NO!
MORE STIMULUS?! On a cold day in heckland.
Obama, like Clinton, Kennedy and Truman, will probably turn his efforts towards foreign policy. All of these previous presidents whose party lost their midterm elections turned to the international stage to leave their legacy. You could see Obama's pledge to support India's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council as the first effort.
(Where did the other stimulus go? Track it on www.recovery.gov)
Yes...a lot of it was wasted for what amounts to temporary work programs.
Tony your blog is awesome! I love reading your simple explanations of politics. Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you saw this, but my brother forwarded me this link about trying to fix the federal deficit:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=xrttj2n0
This was my solution - I cut a lot from military, medicare spending, raising medicare and social security age to 68. And only had a little tax increase. Curious as to how you would solve the deficit.
Hey Nelly,
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty sound advice. I would also cut many entitlement programs and streamline all existing agencies, consolidating the ones that have too much overlap. Social security is tricky, but I would concentrate on more than just raising the age and get health care costs under control. We do need a minor tax increase, probably just back to Clinton year levels.