Working on my end-of-the-year posts, so look for those in a few days. In the meantime, let me just congratulate our Congressional representatives. It’s been a surprisingly eventful lame duck session. While no one is going to like everything that happened (the failure of the DREAM Act is pretty aggravating to me, for example – and then there’s the tax deal that pretty much everyone is ticked about for various reasons), there is a lot to like here.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, it remains true that the institutional structure of our government (and the Senate in particular) is pretty broken. But that’s just a testament to how amazing the 111th Congress really was. Health care, financial reform, stimulus, the fair pay act, SCHIP, an end to DADT, etc. For all the complaints I’ve made over the years, I’ll take a day and just give my thanks.
There’s Harry Reid who somehow survived the election and came big during this session to get DADT done, to secure the votes on START, and to show that he really does know what he’s about in this job.
There’s Barack Obama, who has really showed his mettle in the last two months. Whether you’re pro or con, there’s no denying that he’s demonstrated some deft political agility that people thought he lacked. I’m not a big fan of the tax deal, but it’s a lot easier to swallow when it seems like he actually managed to get a fair amount in the deal…and when getting that compromise done paved the way for passing some of these signature progressive items.
There’s even Joe Lieberman of all people, who was instrumental in shaming those who were opposed to DADT repeal, not to mention in the dull work of actually rounding up the votes. I still hope he goes down in flames in 2012, but for all the invective he’s received, the guy still has come up big in a few important ways. As annoying as he’s been, it seems hard to argue that things would be better if he had been kicked out of the caucus as some proposed back in 07 and 08.
And then there’s the thousands of gay service members who were forcibly discharged, and the many thousands more who were forced to live in secrecy. It’s been a long time coming, but things are finally starting to turn the corner on that front. I was incredibly down six years ago, when anti-gay sentiments seemed to have been instrumental to Bush’s election. I thought it might take decades for America to escape its retrograde politics on this question. Now, just a few years later, that seems far less apt. There’s still a ton of problems, of course. But we’re winning, and the landslide is getting bigger every year.
Anyways, end-of-the-year lists should be done before Christmas. Check back soon.