Not since the explosive years of the civil rights movement and the hard-fought debut of government-supported health care for the elderly and poor have so many big things — love them or hate them — been done so quickly.
I feel increasingly sad and disillusioned when my party gets no respect, because Democrats do deserve respect. All throughout our history Democrats have consistently made great strides. In 1966 after creating Medicare and Medicaid and passing civil rights laws they got hammered in the election. They lost 48 seats in the House and 4 in the Senate but managed to hold on to the majorities in both houses. We are waiting, not so patiently, for November 2nd to come and go. Optimistic are you?
In the 1960s Democrats paid the price for events largely outside their control — an escalating war in Vietnam going badly, rowdy anti-war protests and violence in American cities, said Linda Fowler, professor of government at Dartmouth College.
"I think that's what's going on this time too," Fowler said, "despite a very significant record of accomplishment."
In terms of legislative successes, the current session of Congress is "at least on a par with the 89th Congress" of 1965-1966, said Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
But, he added, Republicans have done all they could to discredit Congress and Democrats have failed to sell their agenda. Moreover, it will take years to fully feel the effects of the health care law and financial regulation.
"A world dominated by bickering and epithet-throwing and bomb tossing in Washington obscures accomplishments," Ornstein said.
Yes, and it will probably take years for the people to understand the effects caused by Republicans which resorted in drastic moves by President Obama. The bank bailouts have been paid back AND with intetrest. But do the people know this?? Who is touting this accomplishment for Obama? The President had no choice but to ask Congress to pass a stimulus package to avoid a depression, thanks to Republican policies....Has the country grasped the severity of the problem and given Obama credit for saving us from economic collapse? No, two years is not enough time to see real change, it will take longer. But sadly the people do not want to be patient so we're headed back in the ditch. I believe if this does happen then the GOP will be forced to actually do some work, they will have to show Americans that they can govern or they will pay dearly in 2012. I say GOOD!
Two landmark acts of this session were the health care overhaul, a giant step toward universal coverage that had eluded presidents back to Franklin Roosevelt if not Teddy Roosevelt, and the Wall Street accountability act.
Obama has also signed into law at least a dozen other pieces of legislation of significance. They include:
_Making college loans more affordable.
_The Cash for Clunkers program that helped rejuvenate the auto industry.
_New consumer protections for credit card users.
_Making it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination.
_Increasing federal regulation of tobacco products.
_Cracking down on waste in Pentagon weapons acquisition.
_Making attacks based on sexual orientation a federal hate crime.
_Giving businesses tax incentives to hire unemployed workers.
_Tax credits for first-time homeowners.
So where is the love?
Do you remember the cries of socialism in the 1960's during the bitter debate over Medicare? Back then even with the fighting on both sides, the polls showed the country had faith their government was doing the right things. Today the polls tell us something very different. The country trusts neither party. This erosion of trust has enabled the Republicans to score points by arguing that Democratic big government programs are destroying our foundation. It is shameful Americans are not paying attention, they are letting extreme rhetoric tell them what to think and believe. Too much bitterness and partisan divide keeps people from opening their minds to the truth.
.
"The amazing thing is that we have had such a productive Congress despite the obstructionism," Steny Hoyer said. "Republicans and their media have successfully sent out a message that the Congress has failed."
Democrats cling to a hope that voters in the last two weeks before the election will come to a more favorable view of how the party handled health care and the economy.
We Democrats know there is still much to be done. We are not blindly following Obama like the righties think. We do hold his feet to the fire as we do Congress too. Immigration reform, tax cuts expiring, jobs programs, DADT, universal healthcare, wars ending, these are all on the Obama agenda the next few years. If he doesn't get the support and cooperation he needs then who do we blame? We always have to blame someone don't we...
