The seven-month niche
By: Josephine Hearn and Martin Kady II
The Politico
Democrats plan to head home on summer break with a short cheat sheet to help convince voters they made the right choice last year in giving Democrats control of Congress.
Children's health insurance, congressional ethics, a minimum wage increase, Sept. 11 Commission recommendations -- every good Democrat will have his talking points memorized for the August recess.
But the list of legislative wins -- several in a flurry over the past few weeks after congressional approval ratings hit rock bottom -- amounts to a solid game of small ball on feel-good measures.
On the most pressing issues -- Iraq and immigration -- Democrats have happily played to a stalemate, believing the best strategy is to blame intransigent congressional Republicans and a lame-duck president for their inability to broker landmark change on the issues that matter most to voters.
"What the American people have learned is that Democrats are trying to get things done, and we've been obstructed," said Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who was the architect of the Democrats' Senate takeover last year.
(Continued here.)
The Politico
Democrats plan to head home on summer break with a short cheat sheet to help convince voters they made the right choice last year in giving Democrats control of Congress.
Children's health insurance, congressional ethics, a minimum wage increase, Sept. 11 Commission recommendations -- every good Democrat will have his talking points memorized for the August recess.
But the list of legislative wins -- several in a flurry over the past few weeks after congressional approval ratings hit rock bottom -- amounts to a solid game of small ball on feel-good measures.
On the most pressing issues -- Iraq and immigration -- Democrats have happily played to a stalemate, believing the best strategy is to blame intransigent congressional Republicans and a lame-duck president for their inability to broker landmark change on the issues that matter most to voters.
"What the American people have learned is that Democrats are trying to get things done, and we've been obstructed," said Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who was the architect of the Democrats' Senate takeover last year.
(Continued here.)
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