Here’s the AP trying to put the best face on this crappy Democrat controlled Congress:
Under a portrait of George Washington and a sign proclaiming "A New Direction," Democratic lawmakers boasted of their accomplishments their first five months running Congress.
Their press release covered two pages.
Yet most people might be excused for hardly noticing, except maybe those who are paid the minimum wage or who live in hurricane-ravaged areas.
Upon taking control in January, Democrats led efforts to increase the minimum wage for the first time in a decade and to force modest spending increases in hurricane and drought relief, children’s health care and a few other areas.
Beyond that, the majority party has found it difficult or impossible to redirect federal policies, thwarted by a veto-wielding Republican president whose congressional allies hold nearly half the Senate seats and a significant portion of the House.
To the frustration of their liberal base, Democrats have been unable to mandate a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Nor have they found a way to boost federal support for embryonic stem cell research, rewrite tax and spending priorities or force the removal of an embattled attorney general.
Their promises to reduce student loan rates, overhaul lobbying practices and put in place recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission are works in progress, at best.
They have largely abandoned their push to allow the government to negotiate prescription drug prices for the Medicare program in the face of Bush’s opposition.
But lets not stop at just pointing out the lack of any kind of productivity, lets point out the huge amount of corruption filling the swamp to the rim. With Feinstein, Murtha, Jefferson, Reid, and Pelosi it couldn’t get anymore corrupt.
I guess I shouldn’t say that, the Democrats always surprise me with the level of cowardice, incompetence, and corruptness in their party.
And how about them earmarks! Great job getting rid of them..
Sigh…
UPDATE
And even the MSM is starting to realize the horse they backed isn’t living up to their expectations. Take a look at this piece that somehow slipped by the DNC censor at the AP:
After promising unprecedented openness regarding Congress’ pork barrel practices, House Democrats are moving in the opposite direction as they draw up spending bills for the upcoming budget year.
Democrats are sidestepping rules approved their first day in power in January to clearly identify "earmarks" — lawmakers’ requests for specific projects and contracts for their states.
Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.
Rep. David Obey (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., says those requests for dams, community grants and research contracts for favored universities or hospitals will be added to spending measures in the fall. That is when House and Senate negotiators assemble final bills.
Such requests total billions of dollars.
As a result, most lawmakers will not get a chance to oppose specific projects as wasteful or questionable when the spending bills for various agencies get their first votes in the full House in June.
So what your telling me is that the Democrats were making campaign promises they never intended to keep.
I’m shocked! Shocked I tell ya!
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