Juan Pablo Rivera Garza
Senior Political Analyst/Blogs Editor
In the first few weeks of the New Year, the political world has been shaken by multiple issues. The rest of the year will be filled with a great amount of debate, and hopefully comprehensive pieces of legislation, here’s what you need to know;
Fiscal Cliff Blues
The failure of Congress to properly deal with the Fiscal Cliff has helped to further lower their already dismal popularity ratings. The Fiscal Cliff deal that was finally agreed upon solves very little permanently, other than allowing tax rates for families earning $450,000+ and individuals making $400,000+ to rise to 39.6%. The sequester, potentially the worst part of the fiscal cliff, has only been staved off temporarily, and eventually will rear its ugly head back at congress. Not to mention, the nation’s debt ceiling is estimated to be hit on Feb. 15.
Nomination Worries
The President’s recent cabinet nominations have given Republicans more fodder to attack the President’s policies. After the President’s preferred choice for the State Department, UN ambassador Susan Rice, was rejected outright by Republicans, few thought that the President would attempt to nominate anyone with a spot of controversy. Once again, the President has defied expectations and nominated Former Senator Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary. Senator Hagel, although a Republican from deep-red Nebraska, is generally disliked by Republicans and opposed by gay-rights groups (for an anti-gay comment he made in the ’90s) and by Pro-Israel groups (for his perceived weakness on Iran and his weak support of Israel). Needless to say, this nomination will cost the President copious amounts of precious political capital.
Defeat of the Republican Party
Speaker John Boehner’s failure to properly negotiate with the President during the Fiscal Cliff has led the Republican party to become further weakened than after the election last November. The party has an even more evident split than before, which was strikingly visible in the vote tally for the Fiscal Cliff Bill in the House of Representatives. If the Republicans want to hold unto their majority in the House in 2014 and potentially win the White House in 2016, they must unite together. This task can only be accomplished with leadership from a charismatic Republican politician that captures the nation’s attention like President Obama first did in 2008.
…What’s Next?
The President’s agenda is chocked full of many ambitious pieces of legislation, including; Gun Control, Immigration Reform and Environmental Protection. If the President wants any of these issues to be resolved in full, then he must carefully work with Congress and mend his broken relationships with congressional Republicans. Gun Control, although finding new support after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, will still be extremely difficult to pass (especially considering the power the Gun lobby holds in Congress. Immigration Reform seems to be gaining a growing amount of bipartisan support (primarily due to the fact that most Republicans realize that their hopes of winning a national election in the future will depend on increased hispanic support). Environmental Protection, an issue brought to light after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Northeast, is still politically wobbly, and may not be addressed in the next four years.
