Democratic Congress?

The main stream media has not painted a very clear picture of the accomplishments of this Congress. They had reported extensively on the bills that were vetoed or that the Senate cloture (requiring 60 votes) rules have caused to be submarined, primarily the anti-war legislation.

But how long has it been since Congressional committees called on Administration officials to talk about their actions (and inactions)? How long has it been since "Promote the general welfare" kinds of legislation have been before the Congress, such as Farm Bill, Violence against Women, Global Poverty Bill, Hate Crimes legislation, S-CHIP, legislation overturning "Don't Ask Don't Tell," Congressional Ethics bill, and Worldwide Health Act?

There are aspects of these bills with which bi-partisan support is available. These bills are neither Republican nor Democrat in terms of need for attention. And each party would put its stamp on it . . . except Congresses since the 1990s somehow did little to face up to the issues behind them.

The Democrats in Congress should not be included in the numbers showing that Congress is even less popular than the Bush Presidency. And I'm not real pleased with the progressive bloggers that are too ready to condemn the Dems for obstacles the Republicans throw up in their faces.