[Editor's note: Today's post is by guest blogger KarynNJ.]
Today, Senator Kerry took to the floor of the Senate and told the truth about which party has been trying to prevent the Congress from accomplishing any of its goals. The Republican echo chamber has been claiming that the current Congress, where Democrats lead both houses, has accomplished little. They seem to have the 110th Congress confused with the Republican Congress, which shut down the government in a fight with President Clinton.
Part 1 of 3
Senator Kerry spoke of the historic nature of the Democratic victories in 2006 and how they demonstrated what the country wanted done. He listed some of the legislation that has been passed in the last six months on these issues -- things like increasing the minimum wage, raising the fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 20 years, correcting the failed policy in Iraq, improving ethics and lobbying reform, improving care and pay for the troops, and funding stem cell research. This sure sounds like a productive Congress to me.
Part 2 of 3
Most remarkable is that so much has been accomplished despite the obstructionists, otherwise known as Republicans. Senator Kerry pointed out that the Republicans have insisted on filibustering everything, which has made it harder to pass anything. He spoke of how bills such as the funding for the intelligence committee, ethics reform and negotiating lower prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients have been blocked by Republicans after they passed both houses of Congress, and how the President vetoed legislation that had passed in spite of the filibusters, such as the call for a new strategy in Iraq and the funding for stem cell research.
Part 3 of 3
Listening to Senator Kerry’s description of the obstinacy with which the Republicans have tried to stop legislation from being enacted, I was impressed that anything has been passed and it was very clear who the obstructionists are. I only hope other Democrats will make the same case for the accomplishments the Democrats have really had and turn the obstructionism charge back on the Republicans as forcefully as Senator Kerry did, even quoting Trent Lott on the Republican intentions.
"And if you don’t believe me? Just ask Republican leadership. In April, Trent Lott, the Minority Whip, told a reporter, 'the strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail… and so far it’s working for us.'"
Even if the speech had ended there, it would have stood as a great rebuttal to the Republicans, but as in many speeches Senator Kerry has given, he then reached far beyond the merely partisan into the realm of genuine statesmanship. He spoke of how both parties had to work for the American people, not the Democratic or Republican Party. Of obstructionism, he said,
"Obstruction for obstruction’s sake is not in the best traditions of the Senate--it’s the worst kind of cynical political calculation. So let me repeat: I support the right to filibuster. We Democrats don’t want to use the 'nuclear option'--we just want to pass bills, supported by a majority in the Senate, that benefit the American people. I would say to my Republican colleagues; there really is a better way. We can work together and do real good for the American people."
There is a huge difference between a politician and a statesman. Even giving a speech defending the Democratic leadership, Senator Kerry is a true statesman, reaching out to the other side with a plea that they work with the Democrats to deal with the problems facing the nation.
Comments (3)
Posted by GV | July 27, 2007 1:46 PM
Excellent post, Karen. I was pleased to see Sen Kerry speak on this issue. It's infuriating to hear that "the Congress" isn't getting anything done, when it doesn't take much to get to the heart of the problem -- that the Republicans have obstructed nearly every piece of legislation that the American people want to see passed.
Thanks for your guest post. Hope to read you here more often.
Posted by mbk | July 28, 2007 11:41 AM
Thanks, Karen. What a great speech that was.
I especially liked your last parragraph: "There is a huge difference between a politician and a statesman". That's as good a way as any to summarize what's been wrong with politics, and our democracy, for the last 20 or so years. We -- the media, politicians, and we voters-- forgotten the difference between a politician and a statesman, and why the difference matters.
John Kerry is such a class act, and a fighter, too: a classy fighter. As KarenDC once wrote, "Not a single day goes by when I think of what might have been. ." Sigh.
Posted by mbk | July 28, 2007 11:43 AM
(typo correction)
whoops. .I meant to type "Not a single day goes by when I DON'T think of what might have been. ."