Ten Political Flash Points for 2011
Next year, expect the 112th Congress and the Obama White House to be locked in battles over spending rollbacks, budget limits, the deficit ceiling, entitlements, monetary policy, and the “de-funding” of federal programs. Expect a year of oversight hearings with striking revelations, subpoenas, and dramatic confrontations with the White House. The new incoming Tea Party class in the House and Senate understand they can claim a mandate from the November elections, and in the next year, Washington’s political ground zero will be over money.
Here are ten flash points to expect in 2011:
Obama Governs by Executive Power
Having lost large majorities in both houses of Congress, expect Obama to deploy his considerable executive powers. A glimpse of what to expect occurred near Christmas as the administration unilaterally issued three new regulatory rulings governing the Internet, greenhouse emissions, and federal wilderness areas. These actions taken by the Federal Communications Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Interior Department exhibited raw regulatory power.
The FCC action defied a federal court. The EPA greenhouse ruling came even as the Senate voted last June to deny the agency power to issue rules over climate change. The Interior Department administratively reversed Bush-era rules on limiting wilderness protection.
This is exactly the strategy progressive activists want the president to pursue.
In November, following widespread Democratic election losses, John Podesta — President Clinton’s chief of staff and the president of the leftist Center for American Progress — released a 54-page post-election blueprint that urged Obama to use his executive powers to bypass Congress to continue their policy changes. Recalling his days in the Clinton White House, Podesta wrote in his introduction to the CAP report:
After his party lost control of Congress in 1994, President Clinton used executive authority and convening power to make significant progressive change. … This administration has a similar opportunity to use available executive authorities while also working with Congress where possible.
Congressional Challenges to Executive Rulings
Expect Congress to reply to the president’s use of executive power by invoking the 1996 Congressional Review Act. This act allows the Senate and House to nullify Obama administrative actions by passing resolutions of disapproval. The procedure permits them to countermand specific department rules and regulations.
When the FCC voted to regulate the Internet, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) announced they would challenge it, invoking the CRA. The CRA can be passed with a simple 51-vote majority in the Senate; it does not require 60 votes.
The War on Federal Spending
Expect Republicans, joined by a few Democrat deficit hawks, to declare war on all federal spending. The conflict will culminate on March 4 when the congressional temporary spending resolution expires and Congress must pass a new federal budget for the entire government. In the House, watch Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and in the Senate, Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK).
Rep. Ryan is the chief author of the new Republican budget. Ryan’s new austere budget is expected to roll back spending to at least 2008 levels. Republicans also vow tough spending cuts to prevent America from becoming the next Greece. Last weekend on Fox News, Senator Coburn warned that the nation will face “apocalyptic pain” if it fails to dramatically curtail spending:
I think within 3-4 years, if we have not done the critical changes that we have to make, I think the confidence in our economy and our currency will be undermined significantly. And that may scare some folks — it’s intended to.
Entitlements also will be on the chopping block, as the presidential deficit commission released a report full of proposed cuts — including the once sacred entitlement programs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Will Obama Govern by Veto?
As the president faces unpalatable legislation reaching his desk, there is the distinct possibility he will invoke his power to veto. The use of the veto has dwindled over the years — George W. Bush issued only eleven during his two terms. In contrast, Democrats who have faced hostile Congresses have governed heavily with the veto: Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked it 635 times, and Harry Truman 250.
What is attractive to the White House is that a veto override will force Senate Republicans to come up with 67 votes. Might Obama use the veto if besieged by unwanted legislation? Expect a classic and passionate constitutional confrontation.
Congress Defunds Obama Programs
One of the least reported last acts of the lame duck session was a vote to forbid spending to move enemy combatants from Guantanamo Bay — dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to close down the facility or to try terrorists in civilian courts.
Defunding is a powerful weapon that Congress can use to stop unpopular programs. Early next year expect ObamaCare defunding to begin to work its way through the House. Look for Congress to try to defund other unpopular programs, such as EPA “cap and trade” regulations, Medicare rulings, and even the administration’s policy seeking to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs.
The Debt Ceiling and a Government Shutdown
Federal spending continues to outpace government revenue by more than a trillion dollars a year.
Today the legal debt ceiling is $14 trillion, which is expected to be exceeded in the first half of 2011. House Republicans vow to repeal the “Gephardt Rule” that allows the House to raise the debt limit automatically without a specific vote of approval. If the Republicans prevail, there will be an up-and-down vote on raising the debt ceiling. The run-up to the vote is likely to intensify negotiations with the White House to use the debt ceiling as leverage to compel lower federal spending. If the debt ceiling is not passed, government programs will lack funds to operate.
Medicare, Social Security, even our military could be at a standstill. Obama and the Democrats will dare the Republicans to vote down the debt ceiling. It will be instructive to see who blinks first.
Ron Paul Challenges the Federal Reserve
Outspoken libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a long-time critic of the Federal Reserve Board, will become the new chairman of the House Subcommittee of Domestic Monetary Policy — which has congressional oversight of the Fed. Paul plans to challenge the central bank’s policy of secrecy by holding open hearings on the institution and its policies. He also will investigate the Fed’s bank examinations and its use of its emergency authority and audits. The new chairman also is expected to denounce the current Fed policy of “monetary easing,” which Paul worries will lead to hyper-inflation — a concern expressed by many economists.
Transparency in Government
Secrecy in the executive branch has been a bipartisan sport ever since the growth of big government. Expect a House full-frontal attack on government secrecy and on the Obama administration’s lack of transparency.
The president is vulnerable, as his first official presidential act was to issue an executive order promising an “unprecedented level of openness in government.”
Expect dramatic oversight hearings, particularly from the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). Issa and his allies are expected to seek new measures to force transparency in governmental actions and decision-making. Look for numerous House subpoenas of Obama administration records and the convening of many oversight hearings.
Bailouts of Bankrupt Democratic States
California’s soon-to-be Governor Jerry Brown has not spelled out exactly how he intends to bail out California from its record $28 billion budget gap. But he may ask President Obama to bail out the state, a plea once issued by his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other Democrat state governors from electorally rich New York and Illinois will be watching to see if they too can appeal to Washington for cash.
Expect the Republican House and vulnerable deficit hawk Democrats to reject any bailout of the states. Expect big state employee unions to lobby for it. And look to see it become a major issue in the 2012 presidential race.
More Scrutiny of Attorney General Holder
Expect the new House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith to aggressively subpoena the Department of Justice for internal documents on many of the controversial policies pursued by Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder perhaps is the weakest Obama administration member, and may be the first to resign.
He has come under fire from the left and right for his anti-terror policies. These include his hiring of attorneys who once defended terrorists, his inability to close Guantanamo Bay, the loss of his first anti-terror trial in New York, and his decision to try September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court. The House and Senate also are expected to continue their probes into the Justice Department’s dismissal of the 2008 voting rights violations by the New Black Panther Party. Late this year the U.S. Civil Rights Commission released a blistering report on the department’s handling of the case, charging Holder with politicizing its civil rights deliberations. The Department’s inspector general also is expected to release a report about whether political considerations led to the dismissal. Central to the case is whether the Obama Justice Department was treating civil rights cases in racially biased ways, favoring minorities over whites. If Holder resigns, expect Republicans to use confirmation hearings as a forum to further probe the Department’s controversial decisions.
Expect a wild year.
Good list. Many of these issues are interrelated. The big fight between the bureaucrats and Congress will get ugly. Hopefully Congress will also defund parts of the Federal government – requiring massive headcount reductions in the EPA and other rouge agencies.
That will relate to the state bailout fight – which would really be a bailout of the state employees – members of the same public employee unions. The federal and state governments have to break those unions in the next few years or they will break us.
…but this is not the 1950s. Asia has risen. Europe will sort itself out and become more fiscally Germanic. The Age of American Predominance is over.
Our leading bankers looted the state, plunged the world into deep recession and cost the United States eight million jobs. Now many of them stand by with sharpened knives and enhanced bonuses – willing to suggest how the salaries and jobs of others can be further cut. Consider the morality of that.
The bankers? Seriously? What about the Jews? I suppose it’s the lack of Jews and bankers that will help Europe sort itself out.
Old soldier, most big international bankers are Jewish. Rothschild, Warburg, Bernanke et al. The criminals who managed to subvert the US Constitution by buying off a Democratically controlled Congress with a Democrat in the Oval Office to pass the 16th amendment, allowing the federal reserve bank to gain control of our money supply. Do yourself a favor and read up about how the fed came to be, who created it and why. Also, read about the US Presidents who challenged, or bypassed, the power of the big banks and what happened to them.
#2 Albert has it correct, America continues acting like its decades ago….the rest of the world has moved on.
Germany is heavily invested in Asia, America is either too preoccupied or willfully ignorant to invest the time and money in Asia, to its detriment. The worlds largest construction projects are in Asia, and will be for the foreseeable future. European companies are reaping rewards of taking the time and effort to cultivate Asian relationships, while American companies are watching the greatest economic expansion in history blow right by them.
90% of America’s ills can be summed up quite simply, Its the Economy stupid.
We didn’t invest in China? The EPA, SEC, UAW, IRS, Dept. of Energy and the rest made damn sure that we can’t compete with China. So now we buy everything from China. Then we sold our children’s future to the Chinese so we can pay off oldsters, unions, and other special interests. Hell yeah, we invested in China.
“Albert” and “alex” got to be the same troll.
“The worlds[sic] largest construction projects are in Asia” = the world’s largest ghost towns are in Asia.
“and his decision to try September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court”
But Holder is on the verge of deciding the venue for the trial, isn’t he? That’s what he said a couple of weeks ago. And a few months before that. And a year or so before that. So I’m sure the matter will be decided shortly . . . waiting . . . waiting . . .
If the incoming congress fails to immediately defund NPR/CPB/PBS/NEA/NEH and all the other subsidies of the increasingly fascistic cultural left, I’ll know they won’t be serious about any of the other stuff.
“….the administration’s policy seeking to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs.”
FWIW, the light bulb ban was part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which was signed by President Bush. It was co-sponsored by, among others, the incoming chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Fred Upton (R-MI).
W may have signed it, but remember who controlled congress then. It was kill the light bulb or no money for the War on Terrorism.
Before anything else, Congress must determine whether Obama is a natural born citizen and legally president, and then proceed to remove him through impeachment.
“Best of luck, President Biden!”
If Obama was born outside the US, his mother’s passport records would show where she was. Was she in Kenya? Not likely. The main problem with a records search is that the archive keepers would make any relevant docs go missing.
Why is it that every secret the US has ever had gets published in the Slimes or the net, but 20 Obama documents are as secure as the inner sanctum of Fort Knox?
If the people responsible for Obama’s records were conducting the war on terror, every Jihadist would have been dead in March 2009.
Hate to rain on your parade, but what Repubics would have the guts to impeach Obama? Then I believe he would be tried in the Senate. How’s that gonna work with Dirty Harry at the lead?
Anyone who felt strongly about Obama’s place of birth should have made a better case prior to the election. To rehash it now would be counterproductive, and a dreadful waste of political capital.
“Get the president” is not an agenda. We should have learned that lesson with Clinton and Monica; picking on the guy just made the country feel sorry for him.
We have real problems to fix. Spending must be controlled. The GWOT must be won. Obamacare must be repealed. The explosion of federal involvement in damn near everything must be stopped. The tax code must be simplified.
We can tilt at windmills and birth certificates after we deal with the real issues, if we like.
Good points but I suspect Obama will somehow pull thru. I’d like to add 1 more point of the liberals abandoning their messiah in droves along with disenchanted liberal wings within DNC.
Everyone knows its easy to get dragged in the mud by the day to day of Washington. Who won the media cycle, what do the polls say, etc. Certainly everyone has their specific disappointed and frustration with the President, but its difficult to argue he hasn’t worked hard and gotten an immense amount of important things done.
This is a pretty cool video and breakdown of what President Obama has accomplished in just 2 years of his presidency.
A macro, birds eye view :
http://www.doubledutchpolitics.com/2010/12/president-barack-obama-two-years-of-progress/
Ha! Now that was the most hilarious link I’ve visited lately.
He left off a couple of outstanding accomplishments.
1. Chose the first dog from an overwhelming population of canines.
2. Played over 1200 different golf courses, many at very exclusive clubs.
3. Managed to always have dinner with his family – no matter which dignitary was left standing in the lobby.
4. Was always up and in the office by 8:00 am – at least on work days – and not during a vacation outing – those don’t count.
I know there were many more amazing feats. Oh man, I almost forgot about the whole lowering of the sea level thing he did.
Maybe someone else can remember some more.
First things is what will be the loss of
1) Not bailing out CA. I doubt if the GOP will lose any more votes here.
2) Vetos. Any voter desired bills vetoed are vote getters for 2012. Expect lots of Kommiecrat up for 2012 to vote GOP.
3) The New Black Panthers investigation is minor in legal effect but tremendous to citizens concerns. So how many black votes will the GOP lose here (the chickens are coming home to roost).
4) Voter IDs are a vote getter as is elimination of the dead on registration. Again no lost votes & instead a gain.
5) Eliminate ethanol requirementes with maybe a 2year price support of corn to ease farmers. Some small rural vote loss but big gains for drivers.
6) Drug & alcokol free welfare recipients manadory.
Let the First Clown veto any of these and watch the Kommiecrats lose 2012 too.
Waiting for Superman
Education…and by default the teacher’s unions…an area that conservatives and libertarians should get aggressive on. It is necessary and a political winner as well.
Busy year. Schwarzenegger – apparently – was sidetracked by the mess he entered within the CA gov mechanics, and focused on fixing that. Meanwhile, the problems of CA at large grew worse.
I’m hoping the incoming Tea Party doesn’t get sucked into fighting the F’d up system that will greet them, and instead just says “to hell with your butchered system, I’m here to undo years / decades of rot and squandering. You’re with me, or get the hell out of my way.”
Today’s Powerline Blog interview reprise, milton friedman’s views on govt. controls,etc. compliments my take on this. Thanks to both sites.
That New Black Panther Party Holds AG Holder in its Spell
. . . Which brings us full circle, to the ideological successors of the old Black Panthers, the New Black Panther Party and its spell over AG Holder. The NBPP may never be tried and convicted of breaking any federal laws mainly because the Holder-Obama DoJ sees them as exempt from prosecution.
There has been widespread, smoldering resentment against the attorney general for his Department of Justice’s dismissal of the open and shut case against the NBPP’s videotaped voter intimidation by uniformed, armed thugs in Philadelphia on Election Day, 2008.
That resentment was deeply exacerbated last summer when former DoJ attorney J. Christian Adams and current Justice attorney Chris Coates exposed the culture of black racism that prevailed at America’s DoJ which was reflected in its gutting of the intimidation case strictly on racial grounds.
Not surprisingly, the mainstream media largely ignored Adams’ charges and Coates’ sworn testimony to that effect, blockbuster charges and testimony substantiated by numerous others at Justice that should have brought down the attorney general, if not the entire Obama administration.
For more detail on what happened last summer, since it can’t be read in the MSM, see “The MSM, the DoJ, and the Death of Integrity,” http://tiny.cc/erjhy, and similar articles in this space.
J. Christian Adams has now revealed how Holder is utilizing–pimping might be a better word–the Democrat Party’s Paper of Record, the New York Times, to push his misleading propaganda about the DoJ’s breach of duty with regard to the NBPP case and other issues. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3342)
Well, you missed the first big one already