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With the control of the House of Representatives and the Senate switching
to the hands of the Democrats in the 2006 elections, the presidency of
George W. Bush has been diminished. The term, "lame duck", could come into
view here with Bush needing the House and Senate to pass some vital bills
for certain issues. Therefore, due to the majority in the Democrats'
hands, tax reform, abortion, stem cell research, and global warming have
now become issues that have arisen further due to the change in Congress.
Bush cannot simply just slide a bill into Congress and expect it to be
passed through both Houses. Democrats will oppose almost anything that he
will throw at them, and in turn, they can throw anything at him. Even with
the power to veto a bill, the president cannot help it if it is in fact
returned to the Senate and put into power with a majority vote. Despite
these difficulties, the main issue remains the War in Iraq.
This past Friday, the Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by
Speak Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), passed a non-binding resolution that recommends
Bush not to send the desired 21,500 troops to Iraq. The assertiveness of
the Democrats has shown that the question of Bush's handling in the war
has been viewed as inadequate and misjudged. Though many Republicans stand
behind him, a small number of Republican supporters seem to be crossing
party lines and changed their vote due to the President's handling of the
war. However, one staunch supporter of Bush's decision, presidential
hopeful John McCain, will show his support by not attending the Senate
vote on the non-binding resolution. Some believed that a bipartisan
separation in Washington could benefit both sides when the Democrats took
control, however for this issue, it has been held to a stalemate. The
occurrence of this issue again in
Washington
seems inevitable as it has become obvious that the parties cannot come to
a common ground or agreement on issues that they have very different
beliefs in.
The fight is now on in our nation's capital. The stage set for battles
between Democrats and Republicans. From this view, it seems that issues
will never be compromised upon, with party beliefs stepping in between
repeatedly. The fact is that George W. Bush being President could amount
to nothing over the next two years because of the Democratic Party
controlling the House and Senate. He could display a great amount of
effort to try and persuade the majority party to pass some of his bills.
Though, as stated, the disagreements between parties have amounted too
greatly to compromise.
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