“It was a thumping,” said President Bush, in reference to the midterm elections. The Republicans lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which was expected by pretty much everybody but Bush.
With a Democratic Congress and a Republican president, what happens? After a well-fought campaign with tons of mudslinging and name-calling by both sides, what happens? With new people coming in to power, many for the first time, what happens?
One point is unanimous; its time to get to work.
The legislative agenda and the ideas that come before the congress are about to change. The issues will shift from conservative (privatizing social security, earmarks, and tax cuts) to moderate and liberal (tax increases, privacy, Medicare, and education).
The main issue that dominated the election, the war in Iraq, is going to come front and center. Congress has the power to control the overall course, but the president has some shared power on this issue, in controlling the everyday operations as well as the withdrawal of troops. We will also see a line change on the military leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld has stepped down and will be replaced by longtime Bush loyalist Robert Gates, who, like many of Dubya’s aids, worked in the first Bush White House. This is a decision whose timing has angered many Republicans.
Many respected Republicans including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and current Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Spector (R-Pa.), both of whom are probably a little upset about losing his chairmanship, have said that if Rumsfeld resigned four months ago the Republicans could have kept the house.
Rumsfeld was not the only one to resign. Ken Mehlman, RNC chairman, who led the overall GOP lost, stepped down after the result came in.
Dennis Hastert, the current Speaker of the House, has announced that he will not run for minority leader (Republicans will be the minority party in 2007).
With many Republicans stepping down, many Democrats will come into a heavily responsible position, none more important than new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Pelosi’s main task at hand will be meeting President Bush half way on certain issues. Bush is still the elected president and according to the separating of powers, his check on congress is just as important as it’s check on him. Pelosi has been the president’s main opponent on many issues and has offered some harsh criticism of him at times.
The Bush-Pelosi situation is one that truly can change the face of politics. Americans will become even more fed up with the government (if that’s possible), if nothing gets done and we have a lame-duck president.
If the president and speaker of the house were to step up to the plate, work out the differences between the biggest conservative and the biggest liberal, come together in an age when people look at politicians as do-nothing bigots, then the face of American politics would be changed forever.
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