When the Supreme Court handed George W. Bush the White House in 2000, he acted -- and governed -- as if he'd received a sweeping mandate from the American people, despite the fact that he'd actually lost the popular vote for the presidency. And over the six years since, Republican leaders in the House and the Senate have routinely tried to run roughshod over the interests of the minority Democrats. So we're sure that nobody will mind now that Democrats, who actually won themselves an electoral mandate in November, seem to be fixing to return the favor.
From today's Washington Post:
"As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking. House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans. But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories."
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