Ever since John Boehner put out his smoke in the House lobby and raced to the Speaker's podium to introduce Nancy Pelosi, we've been able to see how the Democrats are going to operate. After the first few months, it's become clear that not only are these the same old Democrats...but nothing has changed. In fact, save for a vote or two, there's no appreciable difference between the Republican-controlled Congress that was replaced and the Democrat-controlled Congress currently in power. Let's count the ways.Take pork barrel spending. Republicans took this to a new level during their 12-year run...and Democrats are doing the same. There's a new appropriations bill to fund the War On Terror. What are Democrats doing? Opposing the bill out of principle since they're against the war? Nope. They're doing just what the Republicans did...load it up with earmarks. All aboard the bridge to nowhere...happy days are here again!
Then we have the revelation today that one of the Democrats' campaign promises is being broken. During the mid-term elections, Democrats in the House complained that Republicans would hold votes open too long. This was done so more time could be spent rounding up wayward lawmakers, cutting deals, etc. The standard rules call for 15 minute votes. Well, enter House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who has decided to do the same thing. So much for that.
In the end, politicians will be politicians. Be it Democrat or Republican, there are still votes to be bought, political favors to repay and perks to vote on. Some things never change.
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