Thread: How Brown's Win Affects Democrats' Agenda

* JANUARY 19, 2010, 10:09 P.M. ET

How Brown's Win Affects Democrats' Agenda


By COREY BOLES

The Republican victory in Massachusetts imperils, but may not derail, the Democratic agenda in 2010, analysts and congressional aides said Tuesday.

Scott Brown's election to the Senate gives Republicans 41 senators, robbing the Democratic bloc of the 60 votes needed to override filibusters and press ahead with legislation.

How the result could affect specific policy initiatives:

Health Care: To complete sweeping health-care legislation, Democrats have a couple of unpalatable options: Jam through an agreement that has yet to be reached between House and Senate Democrats before Mr. Brown takes his seat; or have the House take up the Senate's version of the health-care bill.

Financial Regulation: The Republican victory puts pressure on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) to craft a bipartisan deal. Talks with Republicans over a draft proposal were already at a deadlock. Now that Democrats have lost their filibuster-proof majority, Mr. Dodd will have to offer more concessions to win Republican support. Gerald Hanweck, a professor of finance at George Mason University, said Democrats might wait to take up the issue until after congressional elections in November.

Jobs and the Economy: Senate Democratic leaders pushing for new tax cuts and spending to create jobs will now need to listen to Republican ideas on what to include in that package. A focus on job creation in an election year could overshadow other domestic policy priorities.

Climate Change: Democrats have long faced problems advancing legislation to curb emissions of greenhouse gases amid resistance from oil, coal and manufacturing interests within their own party. "If an economy-wide cap-and-trade bill was unlikely before, we think a Republican win in Massachusetts would put it on life support," wrote Whitney Stanco and William Hederman, analysts with Concept Capital, a research firm in Washington. More likely: a bill aimed at encouraging U.S. production of energy from alternative sources.

Immigration: Prospects for an immigration overhaul might not be damaged by the Massachusetts election outcome, given talks between Democrats and Republicans on the topic, said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. But she added that with the dicey politics of immigration, any bill would be an uphill push this year.

Bank Tax: One Obama proposal could receive a boost from the Brown victory: the proposed tax on financial institutions to recoup the costs of the Wall Street bailout, if Democrats seize on it to establish their populist bona fides, as some have already tried to do.

http//online.wsj.com

They all seem to be singing a much different tune tonight on Hardball......Matthews' guests all seemed to be pretty much in agreement that obama's agenda is VERY much threatened by this outcome.

Good!!!

We still have to keep the pressure on, and can't take anything for granted.

Related to the article Jean posted:

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Brown win upends congressional agenda

By Hastings Wyman
Southern Political Report

January 20, 2010 —

The stunning 52 percent-47 percent victory of Republican Scott Brown in yesterday’s US Senate election in Massachusetts has major implications for the Democratic domestic agenda in Congress. For starters, the election in the nation’s most liberal bailiwick underscores public hostility to health care reform and many of the other high-profile proposals backed by the Obama Administration. With the loss of their 60-vote, filibuster-proof margin in the Senate, Democrats are being forced to consider ways to do an end-run around the normal procedures to get favorable action on health care reform, which President Obama hopes will be the crown jewel of his administration.

Several options were already being weighed before the Massachusetts results were known, including a speeded-up vote in both chambers before Brown takes his seat in the Senate; passage of the Senate version by the House, which liberal House Democrats oppose; and a seldom-used procedure called reconciliation, whereby the House would pass the Senate bill with the proviso that differences in the two versions would be reconciled before it is sent to the President for his signature. This procedure would require only a majority vote in the Senate. Another possibility would be to peel off at least one Republican vote in the Senate, possibly Olympia Snowe (R-ME), to support the health care bill.

Even before the Massachusetts election, the president had been working with congressional leaders to help iron out some of the key differences between the two chambers. Indeed, the Washington Post reported that at one point the president and congressional leaders were trying to get the bill passed before Tuesday’s special election in Massachusetts.

In any case, nearly all of these scenarios depend on not losing a single Democratic vote in the Senate. So far, Southern Democrats, as well as other moderates, have argued that the concessions they received have made the measure more palatable and all seven of them voted for the health care bill, despite strong opposition to the proposal from their constituents. The best guess is that they will continue to support the bill, but perhaps not other politically difficult measures, which Brown’s victory will also affect.

After health care, other hot potatoes likely to come before Congress this year are economic reform and stimulus proposals, climate change measures, labor law revisions, immigration reform and some social issues. While none have the priority of health care, Democrats in Congress would like to take action on many of them as early as possible -- in the spring at the latest -- in hopes that controversial measures would be “old newsâ€

This article lists Scott Brown's position on other issues. I like him more and more.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/19/where ... alth-care/

Scott Brown drew national attention — and some national dollars — for the sole fact that, if elected, he would be Republican’s 41st vote against President Barack Obama’s health-care bill. A look at the newest Massachusetts senator’s positions on other hot issues:

Abortion
Brown supports abortion rights, though he said the government has the responsibility to regulate through parental consent and notification requirements. He opposes partial-birth abortion.

Death penalty
Brown supports capital punishment.

Marriage
Brown says he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, yet says states should be able to make their own decision on the matter.

Economy
Brown says he is “a free enterprise advocate who believes that lower taxes can encourage economic growth.â€

I wish some one like Scott Brown would challenge Kristen Gillibrand!

Originally Posted by Ratbstard

I wish some one like Scott Brown would challenge Kristen Gillibrand!

And Dick Durbin.