Could the Democrat majority cause some in the party to rethink their approach to certain issues? That is the question I have been thinking about for the past few weeks.
When you have the power to make things happen – the Democrats have an almost filibuster-proof majority in the Senate – do you really want to be the ones to pass legislation that could do long term harm to the United States or the economy?
Previously, Democrats could talk big on a specific issue, and if the legislation did not move forward, they could blame Republicans for not coming to the table to compromise. With a strong majority, that option will not necessarily be available. The left now expects the Democrats to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Morrissey over at Hot Air provides us a heads-up in todays WSJ about Senate Democrats waffling on Card Check.
The Wall Street Journal detects a marked decrease in enthusiasm among the Democratic majority in the Senate for Card Check. Until now, support came easy for people like Mark Pryor as long as they knew that Republicans would block the bill from becoming law. Now that they have an almost filibuster-proof majority, Democrats have begun to think twice about becoming the party that killed the secret ballot.
From the Journal’s opinion piece by Kim Strassel.
Paradoxically, it’s Mr. Reid’s bigger majority that is now hurting him. In 2007, he got every Democrat (save South Dakota’s Tim Johnson, who was out sick) to vote for cloture. But it was an easy vote. Democrats like Mr. Pryor knew the GOP held the filibuster, and that Mr. Bush stood ready with a veto. Now that Mr. Reid has 58 seats, red-state Democrats in particular are worried they might actually have to pass this turkey, infuriating voters and businesses back home.
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EXACTLY! Before, they could pretend to vote for some abominable legislation to keep their liberal base happy, knowing that the Republicans would stop it. They could say “we tried, but the “wascaly wepublicans” stopped us.
Now they have to put up or shut up. No one to blame. No Bush, no significant numbers of Republicans. They have to tell the base to stuff it, or pass the legislation, taking FULL responsibility for doing so. It is sort of self correcting, helping to offset the “absolute power corrupting absolutely” problem.
Obama has the same issues, including the burden of being the first black president. History will overscrutinize his every move, and he is smart enough to realize it. I hope.