Saturday, September 30, 2006

Opinion: Will it matter who controls either house in the next session?


5 comments:

Megan B said...

I believe that it will matter who controls the houses in the next session. In my opinion if Republicans maintain control, more of President Bush's initiatives will be passed, and the country will continue taking a tough stance on foreign affairs. If Democrats seize control in either house I believe the country will be put in a holding pattern for the next two years, until the next presidential election. Neither the President nor the congress would be able to get any major legislation passed, without in a sense watering it down to gain bipartisan support. In this way no group would truly get what they want and the plans would be so watered down that nothing important would be done, and thus the country would be thrown into a holding pattern.

BrandonSh said...

It always matters who controls Congress. But in the upcoming election, if Republicans retain control they are bound to pass more legislation in favor of the Iraq War, and possibly becoming more involved in the Middle East conflicts. The Democrats have stated that they will start removing troops from Iraq, and from what I can gather, try to cool tensions in the rest of the Middle East. This election is especially important because it the second half of President Bush's second term and the control of Congress could drastically change a lot of upcoming legislation and policies.

tonileep said...

I believe that it will matter who controls either house in the next session. Also, I agree with Megan that if the Rebublicans control the house that more of President Bush's proposals will be passed especially those concerning the Iraq war. The Democrats would want to send the troops home and not be so involved in Iraq. The differeneces between the Rebulicans and Democrats is huge. If the Democrats controls either house they are going to change a lot of our policies. Because of this, it is very important who controls either house in the next session.

Dain said...

It always matters who controls congress. In this case it can determine the course of the 'war on terror' and the 'war' in Iraq.

Two immediate consequences of the Democrats regaining a house of congress have yet to be mentioned.

First, the Dems could open congressional investigations into what the Bush Administration has been doing. Abu-Grabe, Guantonamo Bay, and the rest of the secret prisons and prison abuses wern't disclosed by Bush. Neither was the warrentless spying. Odds are good that congressional investigations would unearth more questionable programs.

Second, the dems could no longer simply respond to the Republican proposals. They would now be trying to drive through some of their own.

KerryW said...

Yes, I believe that it will matter who controls either house in the next session. If the republicans control either house, President Bush's ideas will pass. If the democrats control either house though, nothing will get done. I like how megan put it. 'I believe the country will be put in a holding pattern...'