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Ellington: Democrats ignoring bipartisan approach

By Travis Ellington

Columnist

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Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009

Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Democratic Party has begun taking monumental strides away from bipartisan legislation. It seems as if the Democrats cannot get any support from a single Republican senator on numerous issues. Allowing the Democratic Party to pass legislation without  a Republican vote (in the House or Senate) goes against everything this country was founded upon.

“No taxation without representation.” We all know where this phrase came from and it is just as meaningful today as it was during the 18th century. There are 14 states with two Republican senators. The people who voted for a Republican senator or a Republican representative are no longer being represented at the national level because of the lack of consideration of the Democratic Party.

Texas, one of the 14 states with two Republican senators, also has 20 of the 32 members of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. We have overwhelmingly voted for the Republican Party. However, the Democrats, who control the House and the Senate, no longer care most Texans prefer the ideas of the Republican Party.

Legislation such as the stimulus package, the health care reform bill, and the Henry Waxman bill are all historically unprecedented pieces of legislation that can greatly affect the future of our great nation. Yet, the Democrats do not feel the need to gain consent from 40 percent of the nation (40 Republican senators).

The much smaller issues that result in minor Washington disputes can be decided by majority vote. That’s fine. Issues that can change the world (huge increases in taxation of American petroleum producers or destroying the value of the dollar) should to be agreed upon by a large margin.

It does not take an economist from Harvard, MIT or Princeton to know the amount of money being spent by our government is going to cause inflation. Any basic education in economics will teach you a large increase in the supply of a good is going to cause a decline in its value. We should  hope the economic stimulus package creates the amount of jobs it was promised to or we may end up facing stagflation. Neither party wants that.

As great of a speaker as President Barack Obama is, I would think he would be able to motivate the two parties to work together to fix the problems within our borders. The lack of bipartisanship by the House and Senate has been so transparent it has caused tensions at the local level (town hall meetings, protests). People are constantly negatively labeling each other as Republicans or Democrats; regardless of their views on the wide range of political issues.

When I say Democrats, I am talking about the people in Washington who represent the Democratic Party at the national level; not the people who voted for them locally. I am talking about the Democrats who continue to justify their spending by pointing the finger at the failures of the Senate under former President George W. Bush. It sure seems like Washington is continuing down the path of politics as usual as we continue to play the blame game.

Now that the Democratic Party has assumed full responsibility for the immediate future of the United States, there will be no excuses years from now. A Democratic president, Senate and House can be the most dominate force in the world. They had better remember the old saying, “with great freedom comes great responsibility.”

Comments

7 comments
Matt
Mon Nov 9 2009 13:38
Agreed, George: Democrats ignoring bipartisan approach = Republicans refusing to co-operate with Democrats.
George Gant
Fri Nov 6 2009 22:36
"Your nameThu Nov 5 2009 19:46"

"Would just like to say I have nothing personal against George W. I myself would like to have a beer and play some pool with him sometime as I am sure we crossed paths at some time or another since I grew up 5 miles S. of Patricia in the oil patch."

I can attest to the fact that George W. Bush is just fine as long as he sticks to drinking beer and playing pool.

Just don't give him any money with which to start and "run" a business, or the authority to make ANY management decisions either in public life or in business.

George Gant
Thu Nov 5 2009 23:24
Democrats ignoring bipartisan approach = Republicans refusing to co-operate with Democrats.

So?

Your name
Thu Nov 5 2009 19:46
Would just like to say I have nothing personal against George W. I myself would like to have a beer and play some pool with him sometime as I am sure we crossed paths at some time or another since I grew up 5 miles S. of Patricia in the oil patch. I just don't like Republican politics and the tactics they are using. Practically before the oath of office was taken by Obama blame was being shifted from the Bush administration to the Obama administration, instead of owning up to any of this mess. And now you're blaming Jimmy Carter. So there you have it. My point was the Republicans were shifting blame to the Obama administration and you go ahead and substantiate my argument by shifting blame to Jimmy Carter who was president for one term in the 70's early 80's. That is priceless. Are you sure there aren't any other democratic presidents you'd like to add to your list?
The Joker
Thu Nov 5 2009 18:05
I have heard this typical conservative argument before but after looking into it, I found that most of the loans given based on the CRA (not the 1977 one, but the one that Clinton revised) were alt-a and subprime. but the number of these loans only represents 20%-40%(depending on who you ask) of all the subprime loans extended.
so my conclusion is that equal opportunity lending did not cause the housing crisis. however, it added fuel to the fire and it certainly didn't help.
The real moral of the story is that way too much easy money credit became available and now society is in debt way over its head. If you don't have cash money to buy something, you shouldn't buy it on credit. Save up for it. Now we have to clean up this mess while the Republicans watch and complain.
Tom
Thu Nov 5 2009 10:36
Steve, you are clearly clueless. The financial market (housing to be specific) melt down started back in the 80s under Carter. After Carter came Clinton's influence that did nothing but put more pressure on Fannie and Freddie to qualify those who were unable to afford housing. Late 90s the republican party tried to get regulation on Freddie and Fannie but your party put a stop to it saying that both institutions were sound. The rest is history.

Your attack on Hannity and Rush is silly. These folks are talk show host who have opinions usually backed by facts. They fall into the same group as your beloved Keith Oberman and Rachel Maddow.

Steve Wade
Thu Nov 5 2009 09:50
Wrong on most all counts. Its simple, since Obama was elected the Republican propaganda machine, as in Rush Limbaugh, S.Hannity and others have attempted to shift the blame for the implosion of the financial markets, which occurred under George W. Bush and the Republican congress for most all of his administration, to the Obama administration. . Bush was a failed president who squandered all the surplus left by the very successful Clinton administration and basically brought this country to its knees on the brink of a depression. So its the republican strategy to shift the blame to the Obama administration so that they can try and rewrite history. So quit your whining, you are fooling nobody but yourself. Oh and by the way you can't have bipartisan policies when one party can be defined and has defined themselves by their actions as reflexive rejectionists. Its also called ideological ignorance.






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