Democrats widen lead in battle for Congress
Let's not forget the so-called "down ticket" races with all the hoopla over the presidential race. According to this article, it looks like the Dems are likely to pick up seats in both the House and the Senate.
I'm pretty sure Obama will take the presidency, but if by chance McCain takes it, he will definitely need to pull upon his reach-around abilty ... uh ... I mean his self-described ability to reach across the aisle. He will have trouble moving any kind of legislative agenda at all without compromise with the Democratic majority.
If Obama does take it, then he will have a freindly majority in both houses and should be able to move a legislative agenda easily. The most likely challenge will be to rein in excessive overreaching. Bush had a majority in both houses for 6 years, and look what happened --- Republicans gone wild, and the country in the crapper. If the Democrats are lucky enough to get the presidency and both houses, they'll have to put up or shut up. I think they'll do a lot better job than the Reeps did.
Here's the article:
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Democrats widen lead in battle for Congress
WASHINGTON (CNN) â?? Call it the overlooked election. An intense battle is going on right now for control of Congress, but it's overshadowed in the media by a historic race for the White House.
So which party has the upper hand in the fight for Capitol Hill?
The answer, according to a new national poll, appears to be the Democrats. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday, 56 percent of those questioned are backing the Democratic candidate for Congress, while 42 percent support the Republicans.
That's a change from immediately after the GOP convention, when the Democrats had only a 3-point lead lead over the Republicans, 49 percent to 46 percent.
"The change may simply be due to the convention bounce fading for local Republicans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "We've seen evidence that the bounce for John McCain and Sarah Palin was not a permanent change in the horse race. Since the Dems have had a double-digit lead in the so-called 'generic ballot' question throughout the year, it's possible that the current numbers are just reverting back to normal levels for 2008."
The "generic ballot" question asked voters to choose between an unnamed Democratic candidate versus an unnamed Republican in the House race in their district. In reality, people vote for specific candidates in the 435 separate district elections for the House of Representatives.
The poll also indicates that most people don't think Congress is doing a good job at all. Only 22 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, with 78 percent disapproving. The Democrats who currently control both houses of Congress fare better. Forty-four percent of those polled approve of how Democratic congressional leaders are doing their job, up 8 percentage points from July. Fifty-four percent of those polled disapprove.
The Democrats currently control 235 seats in the House to the Republicans 199, with one seat vacant. The Senate is split 49 to 49, with two independents. But both of those independent senators caucus with the Democrats, giving the party the majority in the Senate.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was taken Friday through sunday, with 1,020 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The poll's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall sample, and plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for the questions on how Congress and its leaders are
handling their jobs.
Democrats widen lead in battle for Congress
Quote:
Originally Posted by dragonrider
Let's not forget the so-called "down ticket" races with all the hoopla over the presidential race. According to this article, it looks like the Dems are likely to pick up seats in both the House and the Senate.
I'm pretty sure Obama will take the presidency, but if by chance McCain takes it, he will definitely need to pull upon his reach-around abilty ... uh ... I mean his self-described ability to reach across the aisle. He will have trouble moving any kind of legislative agenda at all without compromise with the Democratic majority.
If Obama does take it, then he will have a freindly majority in both houses and should be able to move a legislative agenda easily. The most likely challenge will be to rein in excessive overreaching. Bush had a majority in both houses for 6 years, and look what happened --- Republicans gone wild, and the country in the crapper. If the Democrats are lucky enough to get the presidency and both houses, they'll have to put up or shut up. I think they'll do a lot better job than the Reeps did.
Unchecked power, regardless of which side of the political spectrum they represent, is a recipe for disaster. Now massive spending bills will be enacted at a faster rate, requiring either higher taxes or ulterior spending cuts, just to keep the debt from rising (that is of course Obama wins, and he sticks to his "pay as you go" platform).
Since the majority of spending is appropriated on social preservation (medicare, education etc...), tax increases look to be enacted to halt debt. This, barring a new technological innovation like the internet had on the 90's Clinton administration, will have a negative effect on the economy.
Democrats widen lead in battle for Congress
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenBoy812
Unchecked power, regardless of which side of the political spectrum they represent, is a recipe for disaster. Now massive spending bills will be enacted at a faster rate, requiring either higher taxes or ulterior spending cuts, just to keep the debt from rising (that is of course Obama wins, and he sticks to his "pay as you go" platform).
Since the majority of spending is appropriated on social preservation (medicare, education etc...), tax increases look to be enacted to halt debt. This, barring a new technological innovation like the internet had on the 90's Clinton administration, will have a negative effect on the economy.
I agree that controlling both houses and the presidency tends to lead to excess. This is why I say the Democrats will have to put up or shut up. We've seen what happens with unchecked Republican power --- they threw their principles out the window. They said they were for fiscal responsibility --- they ballooned the debt. They said they were for limited government --- they increaseed the size of government and expanded its reach. They said they represented military competence --- they bungled a war.
If the Democrats find themselves in control of the presidency and the congress, they will have to prove they can do better, or they will face the backlash that Republicans are facing now. However, Republicans are so discredited now, if the Democrats do pull the country out of this mess, and they do succeed with their agenda, they might hold power for the next 50 years.
