New faces, same status quo: if we want our lawmakers to work for a "new direction"--and a direction to our liking--we must first recognize it will not happen if Congress is left to its own devices."The election of 2006 was a call to change, not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country," Democratic Rep (programming) REP - A directive used in IBM object code card decks (and later PTF Tapes) to REPlace fragments of already assembled or compiled object code prior to link edit. . Nancy Pelosi said in her first speech as the Speaker of the House. "Nowhere were the American people An American people may be:
Mounting public dissatisfaction with the Iraq War Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. was a major factor contributing to the transfer of majority control in both the House and Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats. However, those voters who treated last fall's congressional election as a referendum referendum, referral of proposed laws or constitutional amendments to the electorate for final approval. This direct form of legislation, along with the initiative, was known in Greece and other early democracies. against the war in Iraq may soon be disappointed with what the new Democratic Congress does, or fails to do, to oppose George George, river, c.345 mi (560 km) long, rising in a lake on the Quebec-Labrador boundary, E Canada. It flows N through Indian Lake (125 sq mi/324 sq km) to Ungava Bay (an arm of Hudson Strait). W. Bush's Iraq policy. Public perception aside, the positions of Bush and the new Democratic congressional leadership on Iraq are not exact opposites. President Bush has announced that he is sending an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, but new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Pelosi advocate a phased redeployment re·de·ploy tr.v. re·de·ployed, re·de·ploy·ing, re·de·ploys 1. To move (military forces) from one combat zone to another. 2. beginning four to six months from now as opposed to an immediate withdrawal of troops. As we go to press, it appears likely that the Democratic Congress will vote on a nonbinding resolution expressing its opposition to the president's decision to send more troops. But what kind of response is that? According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Congressional Quarterly Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. , this resolution "would be, by definition, nothing but symbolism Symbolism In art, a loosely organized movement that flourished in the 1880s and '90s and was closely related to the Symbolist movement in literature. In reaction against both Realism and Impressionism, Symbolist painters stressed art's subjective, symbolic, and decorative ." In other areas too the differences between the new Democratic Congress and the Bush administration are not nearly as dramatic as many Americans perceive. In his editorial appearing in the Wall Street Journal the day before the new Congress convened, Bush recalled the bipartisan support the Patriot Act Patriot Act: see USA PATRIOT Act. had received. Though Bush did not mention it, in the Senate only one lawmaker voted against the Patriot Act--Russ Feingold, a Democrat. That lopsided lop·sid·ed adj. 1. Heavier, larger, or higher on one side than on the other. 2. Sagging or leaning to one side. 3. vote in the wake of 9/11 shows that the new Democratic Congress, if left to its own devices by a complacent com·pla·cent adj. 1. Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned: He had become complacent after years of success. 2. Eager to please; complaisant. citizenry cit·i·zen·ry n. pl. cit·i·zen·ries Citizens considered as a group. citizenry Noun citizens collectively Noun 1. , should not be expected to provide an impregnable bulwark against any erosion of civil liberties. In his WSJ WSJ Wall Street Journal WSJ Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI) WSJ Web Services Journal WSJ Winston-Salem Journal (North Carolina) WSJ Wagle Street Journal (Kathmandu, Nepal blog) editorial, the president also boasted that Republicans and Democrats worked together "when our economy was struggling ... to pass tax relief that has helped our economy grow." The economy is still strained of course--because both Democrats and Republicans supported social-welfare programs, from the "No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly known as NCLB (IPA: /ˈnɪkəlbiː/), is a United States federal law that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 " to the new prescription-drug entitlement An individual's right to receive a value or benefit provided by law. Commonly recognized entitlements are benefits, such as those provided by Social Security or Workers' Compensation. program, that caused federal spending to go up at a faster rate with Bush as president than it did with Bill Clinton in the White House. Unfortunately, with Democrats at the helm in Congress, federal spending is likely to continue its upward climb--for existing programs, and for new ones such as (possibly) universal healthcare, a.k.a. socialized medicine socialized medicine, publicly administered system of national health care. The term is used to describe programs that range from government operation of medical facilities to national health-insurance plans. . Many political pundits have claimed that our new divided government--Democratic Congress, Republican president--will gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. major legislation. But don't expect much gridlock regarding comprehensive immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. reform--amnesty--which both President Bush and many Democrats advocate. In fact, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer noted that when he and other congressional leaders met with Bush in early January, "He [Bush] smiled and said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration." At least many of the Republicans Democrats replaced were liberal Republicans (see the chart). Regardless, Americans who value limited government have their work cut out for them!
Incoming and Departing Congressmen
Following are the new members of the 110th Congress and departing
members of the 109th Congress. Democrats and Independents are
italicized and Republicans are in regular type. Percentages indicate
THE NEW AMERICAN'S cumulative "Conservative Index" score for the
109th Congress.
STATE/DISTRICT NEW CONGRESSMAN DEPARTING CONGRESSMAN
Incumbent Defeated
SENATORS
Missouri Claire McCaskill Jim Talent (48%)
Montana Jon Tester Conrad Burns (51%)
Ohio Sherrod Brown Mike DeWine (25%)
Pennsylvania Bob Casey Rick Santorum (44%)
Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse Lincoln Chafee (20%)
Virginia Jim Webb George Allen (50%)
REPRESENTATIVES
Arizona 5th Harry E. Mitchell J.D. Hayworth (40%)
California 11th Jerry McNerney Richard W. Pombo (43%)
Connecticut 2nd Joe Courtney Rob Simmons (31%)
Connecticut 5th Christopher S. Murphy Nancy L. Johnson (18%)
Florida 22nd Ron Klein E. Clay Shaw Jr. (28%)
Indiana 2nd Joe Donnelly Chris Chocola (38%)
Indiana 8th Brad Ellsworth John Hostettler (68%)
Indiana 9th Baron P. Hill Mike Sodrel (40%)
Iowa 2nd Dave Loebsack Jim Leach (25%)
Kansas 2nd Nancy Boyda Jim Ryun (45%)
Kentucky 3rd John Yarmuth Anne M. Northup (34%)
Minnesota 1st Tint Walz Gil Gutknecht (43%)
New Hampshire 1st Carol Shea-Porter Jeb Bradley (23%)
New Hampshire 2nd Paul W. Hodes Charles Bass (20%)
New York 19th John Hall Sue W. Kelly (21%)
New York 20th Kirsten Gillibrand John E. Sweeney (38%)
North Carolina 11th Heath Shuler Charles H. Taylor (45%)
Pennsylvania 4th Jason Altmire Melissa A. Hart (38%)
Pennsylvania 7th Joe Sestak Curt Weldon (26%)
Pennsylvania 8th Patrick J. Murphy Michael G. Fitzpatrick
(28%)
Pennsylvania 10th Chris Carney Don Sherwood (31%)
Open Seats
SENATORS
Maryland Benjamin L. Cardin Paul S. Sarbanes (18%)
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar Mark Dayton (25%)
STATE/DISTRICT NEW CONGRESSMAN DEPARTING CONGRESSMAN
Tennessee Bob Corker Bill Frist (43%)
Vermont Bernard Sanders James M. Jeffords (18%)
REPRESENTATIVES
Arizona 8th Gabrielle Giffords Jim Kolbe (18%)
California 22nd Kevin McCarthy Bill Thomas (26%)
Colorado 5th Doug Lamborn Joel Hefley (51%)
Colorado 7th Ed Perlmutter Bob Beauprez (33%)
Florida 9th Gus Bilirakis Michael Bilirakis (36%)
Florida 11th Kathy Castor Jim Davis (26%)
Florida 13th Vern Buchanan Katherine Harris (25%)
Florida 16th Tim Mahoney Mark Foley (28%)
Georgia 4th Hank Johnson Cynthia A. McKinney (51%)
Hawaii 2nd Mazie K. Hirono Ed Case (21%)
Idaho 1st Bill Sali C.L. "Butch" Otter (73%)
Illinois 6th Peter Roskam Henry J. Hyde (31%)
Illinois 17th Phil Hare Lane Evans (32%)
Iowa I st Bruce Braley Jim Nussle (42%)
Maryland 3rd John Sarbanes Benjamin L. Cardin (28%)
Michigan 7th Tim Walberg Joe Schwarz (21%)
Minnesota 5th Keith Ellison Martin Olav Sabo (33%)
Minnesota 6th Michele Bachmann Mark Kennedy (30%)
Nebraska 3rd Adrian Smith Tom Osborne (33%)
Nevada 2nd Dean Heller Jim Gibbons (51%)
New Jersey 13th Albio Sires Robert Menendez (22%)
New York 11th Yvette D. Clarke Major R. Owens (41%)
New York 24th Michael Arcuri Sherwood Boehlert (18%)
Ohio 4th Jim Jordan Michael G. Oxley (31%)
Ohio 6th Charlie Wilson Ted Strickland (42%)
Ohio 13th Betty Sutton Sherrod Brown (39%)
Ohio 18th Zack Space Bob Ney (49%)
Oklahoma 5th Mary Fallin Ernest Istook (45%)
Tennessee 1st David Davis Bill Jenkins (48%)
Tennessee 9th Stephen L Cohen Harold Ford (31%)
Texas 22nd Nick Lampson Tom DeLay (32%)
Vermont, At Large Peter Welch Bernard Sanders (43%)
Wisconsin 8th Steven L. Kagen Mark Green (45%)
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