The aspiring majority
Posted: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:10 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Congress, Democrats
"Democrats' election-year agenda, which says what they will do if the voters put them back in charge of Congress, would seek to overturn or change just about everything President Bush and the Republicans have done since 2001," including "repealing the bulk of the administration's tax cuts, ending the ban on federal funding for new lines of stem-cell research and limiting some of the investigative, prosecutorial and surveillance methods in the counterterrorism USA Patriot Act," says the Washington Times. "But a top election pollster questions whether Democrats' agenda will play that much of a role in the election's outcome."
In his speech at Georgetown yesterday, former President Clinton said "that the governing Republican majority has abandoned the common good in favor of ideologically driven politics that demonize its opponents, has forced ordinary Americans to fend for themselves and has too often left the United States isolated internationally." He also "was critical of various Bush administration policies. Noting that there are no easy solutions, he said the administration has undermined its efforts to stop North Korea and Iran from developing nuclear weapons by seeking funds for two new nuclear weapons for the U.S. arsenal."
The New York Daily News notes that Clinton did not try to get the crowd to vote for Democrats this November, but echoed speeches he has made boosting his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, for a 2008 presidential run.
Roll Call says the seemingly growing prospect of a 50-50 Senate has officials from both parties agreeing "it likely would force them to revisit a delicate power-sharing agreement struck by Senate leaders in early 2001." Back then, when Republicans controlled the Senate by virtue of Cheney's tie-breaking vote, "Republicans kept their chairmanships and [then-Majority Leader Trent] Lott remained in charge... But Democrats were given equal committee representation, staff and resources." Still, "the 2001 deal holds no official weight given it was part of a nonbinding resolution. And, many Senate sources suggest that the incoming leaders may be less willing to compromise."
The Democratic campaign committees are coming under increasing pressure to borrow money in order to target more potentially competitive races.
