Between August 2009 and January 2010, during @BarackObama's first year as President of the United States, Democrats held a 60-40 advantage in the U.S. Senate (when counting two independents, they being Bernie Sanders and--buerk—Joe Lieberman). Did they do it then? Nope.
Did they pass the #DREAMAct? Nope. Six Senate Dems killed it.
Did they pass any federal minimum wage increases? Nope. The last one was signed into law (by George W. Bush) in 2007.
Did they pass health care reform with a public option? Nope. They let Lieberman kill it pre-vote.
Did they pass any federal minimum wage increases? Nope. The last one was signed into law (by George W. Bush) in 2007.
Did they pass health care reform with a public option? Nope. They let Lieberman kill it pre-vote.
Did they restore some form of Glass-Steagall after the Great Recession? Nope. It's still being proposed over a decade later.
Did they permanently codify reproductive + voting rights and eliminate the Pink Tax? Nope.
Did they codify substantive campaign finance reform? Nope.
Did they permanently codify reproductive + voting rights and eliminate the Pink Tax? Nope.
Did they codify substantive campaign finance reform? Nope.
Did they admit Puerto Rico and DC into the Union? Nope.
Did they codify substantial gun control regulations and a repeal of the Hyde Amendment into law? Nope.
Did they codify automatic voter registration and vote-by-mail into law? Nope.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Did they codify substantial gun control regulations and a repeal of the Hyde Amendment into law? Nope.
Did they codify automatic voter registration and vote-by-mail into law? Nope.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
President Obama and his Democratic Congress had ample opportunity to pass sweeping reforms while they still had a supermajority, with many of those proposed reforms still being proposed today by those that had the power to make them law over a decade ago. What happened? Hm?
Exactly. We can ask folks not to give into cynicism, but we have to give them a reason not to do so. What in the world was going on all that time? Were they so hung up on a mediocre ObamaCare bill that they couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time? The #DREAMAct was unchanged.
I dunno, it's just annoying to see these things said today by those that had the ability to make them happen when they had the authority to do so. We could have had immigration reform. We could have scaled back surveillance. We could have passed #MedicareForAll or at least a PO.
We could have truly punished the worst financial criminals since the Great Depression. We could have had real gun safety reform. We could have had all of these things and we had the best opportunity to do them. The Senate could go blue in Nov. Can the Dems get it right this time?
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
