Republican Rule

The new Congress will be sworn in next week. There is a lot of speculation and anticipation about what the New Year will bring. George Bush won the presidential election with enough popular support to claim that he has a good amount of “political capital” that he intends to spend.

Bush has put Social Security Reform at the top of his agenda. Will Bush get what he wants? The Democrats have a lot of ownership over the issue. After all, it was one of the signature pieces of FDR’s New Deal. They are highly skeptical of the direction Bush wants to take. Bush wants to allow younger voters to start putting some of their FICA payments into private investment accounts. Will his fellow Republicans give him what he wants? Maybe not so easily. Many in Congress see Bush’s second term as a chance to win back some power for the legislative branch that has been watching a tremendous increase in the power of the executive branch in recent years.

The Christian Science Monitor recently said that he will be "walking a high-wire" as he tries to balance the increasingly unpopular military involvement in Iraq with his domestic agenda, but he may succeed.

Also, there are new senators that are ready to mix things up. Several Republicans have moved from the House to the Senate and are ready to push their conservative views. NPR did an interesting story about Republican John Thune, who beat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in November's election. It is an interesting look at this new conservative face and what is coming up in this Congressional session.

Meanwhile, Democrats will try to make themselves heard on important issues as well. There will be lots of attention on new Illinois Senator Barack Obama. His speech at the Dem. National Convention gave lots of people hope for the future. I read a good Newsweek article about him last night. Check him out.