Posted on 07/12/2010 6:24:13 AM PDT by shortstop
What would happen if the American public voted powerfully against the Democratic agenda in November, and then the Democrats crammed it through as lame ducks in December?
Where would the first shot be fired?
Which city would burn first?
Whose political career would end?
Would there be any accountability at all?
There would be no shots fired, or any cities burned, but one political career would be destroyed.
What’s left of it.
Here’s the background. It’s likely that the Democratic Party, after two years of Obama “change,” will be abandoned by the voters. It’s not disagreement, it’s anger. Americans don’t want what the Democrats have been selling.
And so the Democratic Party is apt to lose control of one or both houses of Congress. The House of Representatives could well fall to Republican control and the Senate could see a far smaller Democratic margin.
Either way, the Obama socialist train is about to jump the tracks. Elections have consequences, as Nancy Pelosi taught us, but so too do stupid policies, and a majority of voters have just about had a bellyful of Democrat jihads that seem to strangle our freedom and prosperity.
And after two years of giving Democrats control of all the levers of power in Washington, conventional wisdom is that, come November, the Obama Democrats are going to be put on a pretty short leash.
Come January, the composition of Congress could be a very different thing.
Which is what makes me nervous about December.
In the weeks after a repudiation at the polls, the Democrats will still have control of Congress. It has been almost two generations since a vanquished party has tried to subvert the people’s will in a lame-duck session, but if any group of losers were going to try it, this would be that group.
And public speculation about that is rampant. In some Democrat quarters, it is even promised.
Cap-and-trade, nuclear-disarmament treaty, union strong-arm tactics approved, new federal taxes and regulations, further gutting of the medical, energy and financial industries. All the liberal crap that voters are recoiling from now may well be forced down their throats between Election Day and Christmas.
The thinking is that, so what, the voters will have no club to swing. The congressmen and senators casting the spiteful votes have already been defeated at the polls, and cannot be held accountable.
And that’s elect orally true.
But the same can’t be said for Barack Obama.
And though it’s not likely he would be re-elected if the vote were held today, a lot can happen in two years and in 2012 he may face rosier prospects.
But not if he goes along with the lame-duck game.
If he signs lame-duck legislation that goes against the will of the people, instead of vetoing it, he will be thumbing his nose at the people whose votes he will one day need.
So, yes, the Democrat Congress may be unaccountable in December, but the Democrat president won’t be. If he wants to be respected on Election Day 2012, he will need to respect Election Day 2010.
If he wants to be truly presidential, he will need to honor the people’s will, not his own ambitions.
And the Democratic Party should remember the value of principle and honor. It should live up to its best history, not down to its worst mistakes.
And it should remember that the ability to lead is limited by the desire to follow or the power to compel. Americans are agreeable and docile people, but if you defiantly subvert their will – if you cheat the processes of our democracy – their anger and retaliation can be significant.
The Tea Party upset has been a consequence of suspicion that Democrat initiatives were trampling freedom. If Democrats were to replace that suspicion with certainty, the push back would become more intense and direct.
That could spell the end of Democrat support from any but the party’s entitlement-class base.
Put another way, you screw us, and we’ll screw back.
It’s easy to see what is fair and right – follow the will of the people. That is the right thing to do whether you win or lose. Sometimes what a party offers will be accepted, other times it won’t. That’s just the way it is.
Honorable politicians put their ideas forward and let the people decide.
But Americans have begun to suspect that the Obama Democrats are not honorable.
A lame-duck ram through would prove them right.
That which is enacted in December can be rescinded and defunded in January.
I don’t think the Dems will be able to get any of this through the Senate....they won’t get cloture on these issues...
They won’t be able to lameduck us.
When the results of Nov 2010 are clear, a lot of people up in 2012 will tell Nancy to blow off.
And Harry won’t even be there.
Hopefully not order some Kevlar suits.
No, he can’t.
His agenda will be as dead as Marley’s ghost.
.... which is a large minority that is rapidly growing. There's some long term thinking going on in the Democratic leadership. Even amnesty won't produce instant votes--it takes a while to attain citizenship. But for Dems, along with welfare, it would be the gift that kept on giving votes for generations.
All of this is mental masturbation until we can not only get the Dems out, but the RINOs too. There is no need for them to “Lame Duck” anything right now. The opposition is weak at best, agreeable at worst.
Look at the trouble they’ve had over the past 1 1/2 years getting anything through Congress. And they’ve been in control all that time. I think this is much ado over little chance...
we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
in most things, the senate does have enough votes to stall everything...except when rino-ism is involved
..start raising money for their defense fund.
Will they be like a defeated army in retreat, destroying everything as they withdraw?
If he signs lame-duck legislation that goes against the will of the people, instead of vetoing it, he will be thumbing his nose at the people whose votes he will one day need.
Why would he change? He feels he doesn't need or care about the voters, especially if he can get most of his backers' agenda in place. He won't veto what he himself supports. The Pubbies have a poor record of rolling back Democratic legislation.
And the Democratic Party should remember the value of principle and honor.
BWAAHAAHAAHAAAA!
They’d better not come home if they do.
Never doubt how dangerous this group can be. They have already wrecked havoc on America and are just getting warmed up. They will do whatever it takes to further their agenda.
Those dems who survived this purge may not be so willing to take the gaspipe for O since they’ll be back for another election in two years.
That’s what I was thinking, maybe the house, but c’mon, the Senate? If they even try that, wow there will be hell to pay.
Will Obama veto is the question?
Yes you know he will.
How about Lame Duck Pubbies like Bennettof Utah? What will he do?
I think we all know that blanket amnesty via EO decree will happen before the next congress is seated.
Thing is, they will attached it to something he very badly wants and needs. “We have ways of making you cooperate.” The only thing they couldn’t reverse is a treaty, and even then they can decline to provide the funds to carry out its provisions.
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