Some things change, some things don’t, even in Congress

Richard Fulton

It may be a new year, but the same old problems seem to be persisting.

What we look for is the new twists to the old problems as we begin to scope out the months ahead.

The twists have already begun, of course. You will remember that Republicans and the anti-immigration folks have been pummeling President Obama for months over his use of executive powers to administer the laws dealing with immigration. Their main complaint has been that he violated the Constitution by using executive actions that all presidents have used.

This argument is not my point though.

What was the first act of the Republican leadership of the new Congress?

They flagrantly ignored the Constitution of these United States.

It’s fine to do that if it is inconvenient to follow, I suppose.

The Constitution of the United States clearly and unambiguously states that the new Congress must be sworn in and begin its work on Jan. 3 of alternate years.

When did the Congress first meet?

Jan. 6.

It was not convenient to meet on Jan. 3 as it was a Saturday, and we know how Congress hates to meet over the weekend.

This is no big deal, of course. All agreed to the change in date, even the Democrats. Still, if you are going to be strict constructionists of the Constitution, shouldn’t you strictly adhere at least to its very specific and unambiguous elements?

Be that as it may, the Republicans take control of the Senate and remain in control of the House after the 2014 elections. This is important because whoever has the majority in each house controls the flow of legislation. The Speaker of the House, for example, controls which laws the full House will debate and vote on, and when.

The rules are a bit more loose in the Senate, but there, as in the House, all committee chairs are appointed from the leadership of the majority party. Committee chairs have huge influence first on which bills are taken up and voted upon.

In short, the Republicans are in control of the work of the congress and must now prove that they can govern with some degree of usefulness.

There are three problems for them in this regard.

First, they have to deal with the splits within their own ranks. The right wing of the Republican legislators are fond of challenging their leadership.

Note that the most basic of votes for the majority party is to choose the Speaker of the House. John Boehner has been the speaker from the last Congress and it was assumed would easily win reelection for this Congress.

Boehner won the role, of course, but 25 of his own party members voted against him. This is a harbinger of problems to come. Those 25 are hard-line conservatives who want the party to attack every move that Obama makes. How Boehner deals with this will tell a lot about Republican ability to govern.

The second problem is that the president is a Democrat and he has the veto power. Most issues will need compromise or they will die in Congress.

Lastly, though the Democrats are a minority in the Senate, they can use the power of the filibuster to frustrate Republican policies.

Sound familiar?

A taste of the Republican strategy the last few years.

The first Republican issue will be the authorization of construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Since some Democrats want the pipeline too, Republicans can claim bipartisan support.

Obama says: too soon, too dirty, and perhaps not financially viable with the cost of oil so low.

He will veto it until all the research is done and the Nebraska courts decide if it can go across their state. The clash is joined. Senate Democrats have enough to protect the veto.

Welcome, then, to the new Congress and the new year.

Not many new twists after all.

Same as the old Congress, and same as the old year.