Them Dems

For all of the media headlines of Bush’s bounce in the polls, the most recent polling data suggests that Bush’s bounce was not so high or as sustained as the headlines writers suggested. Four major polls have been released this month.

Statistically, Bush’s polling numbers are flat with those from the end of 2005. His approval rating are stuck in the low forties, his disapproval rating remains in the mid-fifties and the spread between approval and disapproval remains in double digits.

		Approve	Trail Mo	Disapprove	No Opinion	Spread

CNN/USA/Gallup	1/6-8/06	43.00		54.00	3	-11.00
CBS	1/5-8/06	41.00		52.00	7.00	-11.00
Pew	1/4-8/06	38.00		54.00	8.00	-16.00
AP-Ipsos	1/3-5/06	40.00		59.00		-19.00

	January Average	40.50	-0.25	54.75	6.00	-14.25


	2005
	December Average	40.75	2.83	54.25	6.33	-13.50
	November Average	37.92	-1.93	56.46	6.09	-18.54
	October Average	39.86	-1.46	55.07	5.58	-15.21
	September Average	41.31	-1.91	53.75	4.81	-12.44
	August Average	43.22	-2.38	52.33	4.33	-9.11
	July Average	45.60	0.60	49.00	5.30	-3.40
	June Average	45.00	-1.50	49.83	5.33	-4.83
	May Average	46.50	-1.10	48.33	5.17	-1.83
	April Average	47.60	-1.28	49.00	3.20	-1.40
	March Average	48.88	-1.13	46.00	5.13	2.88
	February Average	50.00	-1.00	46.29	3.71	3.71
	January Average	51.00		44.71	4.00	6.29

The headline writers have been working overtime on Bush’s “bounce” in the polls as these two headlines from recent stories exemplify:

Rep. Tom “The Hammer” Delay will be replaced in the Republican leadership. Jack Abramoff's guilty plea was the final nail in “The Hammer’s” political coffin. It appears likely that Abramoff will implicate Delay in additional corrupt practices.

It is time for Democrats to separate themselves from politics as usual that has become a special interest domination of national policy. That effort appears to be starting in earnest:

Congressman Dave Obey (WI-7), senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee announced today that a majority of House Democrats, including Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Whip Hoyer (D-MD), have agreed to sponsor a 14-point package to reform House rules.

The package, produced by Obey, Barney Frank (D-MA), David Price (D-NC), and Tom Allen (D-ME), which first surfaced in the closing days of Congress in December, is designed to weaken lobbyist influence, strengthen fiscal discipline, curb abuses of power, outlaw the use of earmarks to buy votes for questionable legislation, create more time for serious Congressional oversight and prevent last minute legislative items from being slipped into conference reports between the House and Senate without a full public vote by the conference committee.

Prevent lobbyists from having anything whatsoever to do with paying for, sponsoring, or arranging Congressional travel.

Prevent former members of Congress from using their access to the House floor to lobby.

Increase fiscal discipline by prohibiting any budget reconciliation measures from being considered by the House if it would increase the size of the Federal deficit.

Curb abuses of power by ending the practice of using earmarks to buy votes for questionable legislation and holding votes open long beyond the time required in House rules in order to change the outcome.

Prohibit legislation from being voted on until printed copies have been available for at least 24 hours.

David Broder of the Washington Post gives the Democratic Party plan an excellent review:

The [US House of Representatives] needs a good scrubbing, and that is what it would get if the leadership were somehow to embrace a set of rules changes put forward this week by several longtime members… It is strong medicine -- a stiff enough dose of salts that even a watered-down version would mark a major change in the ethical environment of Capitol Hill. [S]omething must be done to cleanse the House -- and this points the way.”

Broder’s article provides even more details about the Democrats reform program. It is a must read.

The Democratic reform proposal is a bold public policy move by Democrats to distinguish the Party from the corrupt practices that have infected constitutional democracy in the United States. The reform package is excellent public policy.

Obey’s reform package is also good politics. Americans essentially believe that both parties are equally corrupt as demonstrated by recent public polling.

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Dec. 16-18, 2005. Nationwide.
					.
"Now, thinking about this issue of corruption in politics: I'd like to ask you about most members of Congress. Would you say that most members of Congress are corrupt or not corrupt?" Form A (N=481 adults, MoE ± 5)
					.
		Corrupt	Not Corrupt	Unsure
		%	%	%
	12/16-18/05	49	46	5
	10/22-25/94	50	44	6
					.
"How many [see below] do you think are corrupt: almost all, many, only a few, or none?" Form B (N=522 adults, MoE ± 5)
					.
		Almost All	Many	Only a Few	None	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
					.
	"Democrats in Congress"
	12/16-18/05	17	27	52	2	2
					.
	"Republicans in Congress"
	12/16-18/05	19	28	49	2	2

Obey’s reform package, if it becomes a intrigal part of the Party’s platform in 2006, could convince Americans that there is a difference between the Parties and that Democrats deserve to be returned to majority status.

This issue is sufficiently important that TPJ reprints the Democratic Party plan below. Please copy and send it to every Democrat and citizen you know:

1. No member or staff of the House of Representatives may accept travel or lodging or reimbursement for such expenses if he or she has not obtained from the sponsor, and filed with the Clerk of the House, the following declarations:

a. that no lobbyists have been invited to travel, lodge or attend meetings with the Member or staff,

b. that the sponsor does not conduct lobbying activities as defined in section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code,

c. that the sponsor neither employs a registered lobbyist nor contracts for such services nor is it affiliated with such an entity, and

d. that the trip was not financed by a corporation unless through contributions deductible under the Internal Revenue Code and the source
of all such contributions are disclosed in the declaration.

2. Any former Member of the House, Cabinet Secretary, or Governor who wishes to exercise the right to be present on the Floor of the House when the House is in session must sign a declaration stating that (1) the House is not debating or voting on an issue on which the person has a financial interest, (2) the person is not a registered lobbyist and (3) the former member will not advocate in any way in behalf of or in opposition to any matter before the House while present on the floor.

3. A reconciliation measure shall not be in order if it would increase the size of the budget deficit compared to the CBO baseline for the coming or subsequent fiscal years. This rule may be waived only with the consent of the majority and minority leaders and if the House agrees to consider the rule by a 2/3 vote of the House.

4. Close the loophole in current rules under which Budget Act points of order do not apply to unreported legislation. Under present rules, amendments to an unreported measure are subject to Budget Act restrictions but the underlying bill is not.

5. No recorded vote in the House of Representatives or the committee of the Whole House can last longer than 20 minutes without the consent of either both Floor managers or of both Leaders.

6. Amend the House Ethics Code to make it an offense for a Member to condition funding for earmarks requested by another Member on how the requesting Member votes on legislation.

7. Amend the House Ethics Code to make it an offense for any Member to advocate an earmark unless that Member discloses whether he or she either has a financial interest in the entity or exercises any control over it, such as appointing members of the organization’s board.

8. If a rule makes in order text that is different from what the committee of jurisdiction has reported, the rule must provide the chairman or ranking minority member, if requested, a preferential amendment – neither divisible nor amendable unless adopted and all necessary points of order waived - to restore the bill (in whole or in part) to its original form.

9. A rule may waive points of order against a measure but only if the rule also waives the same points of order for an amendment if requested by the minority leader or designee.

10. Before the House can adjourn at the end of a session, the House must have conducted 20 or more weeks with at least one recorded vote or quorum call on at least four of the five calendar work days.

11. Except for measures on the suspension calendar, the House cannot consider legislation unless printed copies of such legislation have been available to all members of the House for a period of 24 hours. This rule can be waived only if two-thirds of the House votes to consider such a waiver.

12. It shall not be in order for the House to agree to go to conference on a general appropriation bill unless the Senate expresses its differences with the House in the form of numbered amendments.

13. It shall not be in order to consider a conference report unless there has been a formal open meeting of the conference at which all provisions on which the two bodies disagree are open to discussion and the resolution of the differences between the two bodies is approved by a recorded vote of a majority of House appointed conferees. The requirement that the discussion and votes stipulated in this rule must be held in open session may be waived for purposes of national security, but such votes and discussions are required in the executive session of the conference. This rule cannot be waived by majority vote but can be waived by unanimous consent.

14. It shall not be in order to consider any conference report that is materially different from what was agreed to by a majority of House conferees in an open session of the conference and was not part of the final package on which a favorable vote was cast by a majority of House Conferees. This rule cannot be waived by majority vote but can be waived by unanimous consent.