John Fund has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal about “The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy.” The strategy is this: wait till after the mid-terms, when members of Congress don’t have to worry about an impending election, then pass all the contentious items left on Obama/Pelosi/Reid’s agenda (cap and trade, tax hikes, etc.). At HotAir, Ed Morrissey is more sanguine about the likelihood of passing any truly contentious items, but acknowledges that attempts at some shenanigans are likely.
There’s not much doubt that trying to get at least some mileage out of the lame-duck session is on Democrats’ radar. In response, right-leaning pundits, politicians, and various organizations are calling for Democrats to pledge that they will not pass any major legislation during the lame-duck session. I get the politics of this — forcing incumbents to take a stand on these issues before the election, or look like they have no regard for their voters — but it is meaningless in the long run.
There is no reason to stop calling for these pledges if they’re useful politics, but they are meaningless. There is no way to enforce them, and what repercussions are there for someone that has already been voted out of office?
What needs to happen is for anyone and everyone with an audience to call on Obama for pledge to veto any major legislation that comes out of the lame-duck session. This pledge is different, for several reasons. First, if he actually took such a pledge, that bare fact would make attempts to do anything in the lame-duck session far less likely. The threat of a veto, however unlikely in practice, would position Congress as not only working against the will of the people, but against their own president as well. A soon-to-be unemployed representative may not care about the former if he has a cushy lobbying job set up, but the latter might give him pause.
Second, this pledge would have teeth. A politician that is never going to have to face voters again can afford to give them the middle finger, but Obama will still be in office after the lame ducks have flown. He will have to face the polls, thoughts of his legacy, and an impending election that will be more and more on people’s minds as the Republican primary heats up next year.
The main effect of calls for a pledge to veto lame duck bills, though, would be to make Obama own anything that comes out of that session. He likes to hide behind Congress (and his attorney general, military commanders, etc.), so it is important that people focus on his actions, not those of the outgoing (hopefully) Speaker of the House. If he sees that he will get the full blame for the passage of any unpopular bills, he may be less likely to push for action during the lame duck session. Even if that doesn’t make him hesitate, he will own the negative consequences and publicity.
Keep hammering vulnerable members of Congress, by all means, but every call for restraint to a Democratic Senator or Representative should be coupled with a call for a veto from Obama.
UPDATE (7/24):
Why are people still asking for members of Congress to make this pledge? It’s utterly meaningless.
News info…
I was reading the news and I saw this really cool info…
Dreary Day…
It was a dreary day here today, so I just took to piddeling around online and realized…
Just Browsing…
While I was browsing yesterday I saw a excellent article about…
News…
I was reading the Yahoo news and I saw this really cool information…
News info…
I was reading the news and I saw this really interesting info…
Yahoo results…
While searching Yahoo I found this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Informative and precise…
Its hard to find informative and precise information but here I noted…
That’s Right!…
This is a really good blog. Good work!…
Looking around…
I like to look in various places on the internet, regularly I will go to Stumble Upon and read and check stuff out…
What site to read this year…
[...]very intersting website, on an blog about[...]…
Tumblr article…
I saw a writer talking about this on Tumblr and it linked to…
Digg…
While checking out DIGG yesterday I found this…
Informative and precise…
Its hard to find informative and precise info but here I noted…
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Digg…
While checking out DIGG today I found this…
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Digg…
While checking out DIGG yesterday I noticed this…
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
News info…
I was reading the news and I saw this really interesting info…
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Kamasz…
[...]while the sites we link to below are completely unrelated to ours, we think they are worth a read, so have a look[...]…
A Skyrim Game website Link To Your Post…
[...]Here is a good Blog Many times Interesting that аnу оf uѕ Encourage You[...]…
Recommeneded website…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
Digg…
While checking out DIGG today I noticed this…
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
abroach…
i have a domain name, a host- speedhost.in, i just did all this to experiment on how to design a website. i know a bit of html….but a total novice in designing a site and i cant figure out how to even make a html file my homepage. can u please help m…
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Its hard to find good help…
I am constantnly saying that its hard to get quality help, but here is…
aahs…
cheap tall ugg bootsUggs boots are great footwear for anybody from the very young to the very old.pandora sets uk…
Informative and precise…
Its difficult to find informative and accurate info but here I found…
Yahoo results…
While searching Yahoo I discovered this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Digg…
While checking out DIGG yesterday I found this…
Looking around…
I like to look around the web, regularly I will go to Digg and follow thru…
Much Thanks!…
Thanks for taking the time to provide us all with the info!…