https://sputnikglobe.com/20231001/us-congress-narrowly-avoids-government-shutdown-capping-off-a-uniquely-dysfunctional-week-1113832252.html
US Congress Narrowly Avoids Government Shutdown Capping Off a Uniquely Dysfunctional Week
US Congress Narrowly Avoids Government Shutdown Capping Off a Uniquely Dysfunctional Week
Sputnik International
It appeared proceedings would end with a government shutdown until an 11th-hour deal was struck late Saturday, but observers are still noting the US Congress’s poor performance during the last week of September.
2023-10-01T00:47+0000
2023-10-01T00:47+0000
2023-10-01T00:47+0000
us politics
us politics
analysis
joe biden
us house
us congress
us senate
kevin mccarthy
republicans
republicans
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US Senators Jacky Rosen (D) and Jon Ossoff (D) continue to recover from recent COVID diagnoses, while Representative Chellie Pingree (D) copes with the virus for the second time this year. Senator Bob Menendez (D) is facing indictment for cartoonish levels of alleged corruption, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) is battling fellow GOP members who oppose him. To cap off the political drama, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving US senator from California, passed away this week.It appeared proceedings would end with a government shutdown until an 11th-hour deal was struck late Saturday, but observers are still noting the US Congress’s poor performance during the last week of September.It was that kind of flamboyant partisanship that was perhaps the biggest driver of dysfunction this week as House Republicans kicked off impeachment hearings against President Joe Biden. Even many Republicans seemed suspicious of the effort. But more theatrics may be in store as the United States approaches next year’s election in a country increasingly known for seemingly endless campaign seasons.Biden believes the optics work in his favor. Republicans only narrowly won control of the House last year in a vote many had predicted would be a “red wave.”Since then, the House Freedom Caucus has often dominated the headlines, making life difficult for Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Recently the conservative clique has threatened to replace him with Representative Matt Gaetz, a politician best known by many for an alleged tryst with an underage minor (the charge was dropped due to lack of evidence).If conservative lawmakers’ spectacles boost Biden next year it wouldn’t be the first time a Democratic president has been helped by an obstinate legislature. Harry Truman narrowly won reelection in 1948 after famously slamming a Republican-controlled House and Senate as a “do-nothing” Congress. Republicans would be shut out of unified legislative control until 1994, cementing Democratic dominance of US politics throughout the era of welfare Keynesianism.With an emboldened labor movement on the upswing, the country could be on the verge of a similar moment and a less divided government. But before there can be unity, there must be something to unify around.But if Biden wants to rebuild a durable progressive coalition he’ll need to set his sights a bit higher: beyond his assurances that “nothing will fundamentally change” and toward a political vision that re-centers working class Americans.If he doesn’t, newer generations could insist on more radical solutions.
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us congress, us government shutdown, us politics, house gop, house democrats, us house of representatives, house speaker kevin mccarthy, us republicans, us democrats
us congress, us government shutdown, us politics, house gop, house democrats, us house of representatives, house speaker kevin mccarthy, us republicans, us democrats
US Congress Narrowly Avoids Government Shutdown Capping Off a Uniquely Dysfunctional Week
Irreconcilable differences nearly resulted in a federal stoppage as US legislators faced death, pestilence and criminal indictment.
US Senators Jacky Rosen (D) and Jon Ossoff (D)
continue to recover from recent COVID diagnoses, while Representative Chellie Pingree (D) copes with the virus for the second time this year. Senator Bob Menendez (D) is facing indictment for cartoonish levels of alleged corruption, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) is battling fellow GOP members who oppose him.
To cap off the political drama, California Senator Dianne
Feinstein, the longest-serving US senator from California, passed away this week.
It appeared proceedings would end with a government shutdown until
an 11th-hour deal was struck late Saturday, but observers are still noting the US Congress’s poor performance during the last week of September.
“You’re incentivized, for your political survival, to burn the place down,” said Representative David Schweikert of Arizona, lamenting that colleagues feel inclined to heighten the drama simply for fundraising purposes.
It was that kind of flamboyant partisanship that was perhaps the biggest driver of dysfunction this week as House Republicans
kicked off impeachment hearings against President Joe Biden. Even many Republicans seemed suspicious of the effort. But more theatrics may be in store as the United States approaches next year’s election in a country increasingly known for seemingly endless campaign seasons.
Biden believes the optics work in his favor. Republicans only narrowly won control of the House last year in a vote many had predicted would be a “red wave.”
Since then, the House Freedom Caucus has often dominated the headlines, making life difficult for Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Recently the conservative clique has threatened to replace him with Representative Matt Gaetz, a politician best known by many for an alleged tryst with an underage minor (the charge was dropped due to lack of evidence). If conservative lawmakers’ spectacles boost Biden next year it wouldn’t be the first time a Democratic president has been helped by an obstinate legislature. Harry Truman narrowly won reelection in 1948 after famously slamming a Republican-controlled House and Senate as a “do-nothing” Congress. Republicans would be shut out of unified legislative control until 1994, cementing Democratic dominance of US politics throughout the era of welfare Keynesianism.
With an emboldened labor movement on the upswing, the country could be on the verge of a similar moment and a less divided government. But before there can be unity, there must be something to unify around.
But if Biden wants to rebuild a durable progressive coalition he’ll need to set his sights a bit higher: beyond his assurances that “nothing will fundamentally change” and toward a political vision that re-centers working class Americans. If he doesn’t, newer generations could insist on
more radical solutions.
