Welcome To Relevancy

(Updated Below...Updated Again)

When the Country spoke last November, there was a bit of trepidation in me, boiling beneath the surface. I felt that there was a chance that Democrats could easily drop the ball that they were given, and simply become another version of the Republican do-nothing Congress.

My trepidation has been eroded, somewhat, as it seems, to me at least, that the new Congress has gotten more done in its first 24ish hours, than the last Congress did, ever.

From today’s WaPo -

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was elected America's first female speaker of the House yesterday in a raucous, bipartisan celebration of a historic breakthrough, and hours later she presided over passage of the broadest ethics and lobbying revision since the Watergate era.

Democrats took control of the House and Senate after 12 years of nearly unbroken Republican rule, with resolute calls for bipartisan comity and a pledge to move quickly on an agenda of health-care, homeland security, education and energy proposals. Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), the soft-spoken son of a hard-rock miner, took the helm of the Senate, after a closed-door session in the Capitol's stately Old Senate Chamber. But with the eyes of history riveted on her, it was Pelosi's day.

(snip)

In the House, Democrats did not skip a beat between formally taking control and getting to work on what they have called their hundred-hours agenda. Last night, the House nearly unanimously approved a broad package of internal rules changes designed to sever the cozy links that have developed between lawmakers and lobbyists.

The changes would prohibit House members or employees from knowingly accepting gifts or travel from a registered lobbyist, foreign agent or lobbyist's client. Lawmakers could no longer fly on corporate jets. In addition, congressional travel financed by outside groups would have to be approved in advance by the House ethics committee and immediately disclosed to the public.

The measures were approved 430 to 1, with only Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) voting against it. This was a remarkable change considering that House Republicans could barely pass a far weaker measure last May and ultimately did not enact any measure because they could not reach agreement with the Senate. But voters in November identified corruption as one of their primary concerns, and the House responded yesterday.

The House also saw action on some important Bush-slappin’ issues -

To make it clear that such issues will have to be addressed, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) reintroduced legislation on the new Congress's first day to mandate that NSA surveillance once again involve a warrant from a secret federal court.

"There's a long list where Congress has been abdicating their responsibility, and I suspect the leadership and the chairs will have to quickly get to work," Schiff said.

It may not be much, yet, but it’s still more than we ever saw from the Republicans.

I’m not even sure how to cover a relevant Congress that does its job.

UPDATE1: 11:25 AM

Look for a statement from Democrats on Bush’s horrible escalation plan.

UPDATE2: 12:54 PM

The letter has been sent. It’s breaking on MSNBC. Will have a link and more as it pops up online.




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