Good Afternoon Feisty:

I can guess who the 1 in 10 are. They are Tea Partiers who do not want any kind of change, except efforts to weaken our government.

Feisty - they let Boehner vote. That's the only way they get 1!

I think this is really at the least a fresh look at what America's citizens look like. There is more diversity in both houses than ever before. I wonder if any of this will strike a cord with the Republican Party? This coupled with one of the big reasons they lost in November should, one would think, be the eye opener to the party that America's "makeup" has and is continuing to change. The Republican Party as a whole will either move along with its people or they better be prepared for a "takeover". I myself prefer the takeover, but that's just me!

Happy New Year!

Republican Ted Cruz, a Cuban-American who beat Texas's lieutenant governor in an upset primary, is the first Latino to represent the diverse state of Texas in the Senate.

"The diverse state of Texas".......but to elect another rabid TeaPeople surely confirms the low-information status of the electorate......

Ignorance and hateful rhetoric is celebrated!

Off topic but I just saw the video of Senator Kirk climbing the stairs of Congress. He was accompanied by V.P. Biden and Senator Durbin as he made his way up the steps and many of those in Congress applauded him as he made his way up the steps. What a great day for him!

More of a general point, nothing specific to the 113th, but I love how politicians, especially those on the 'right', in Congress, speak about their 'job' in longer projections than the 2 years they are elected for.

They always speak of and promote the notion that a vote here or there '...might put their job at risk...', ie. get a Primary challenge.

Why am I as a voter supposed to give a damn about such thinking? It is not even a true scenario. Your 'job' is a 2 year endeavor (for those in the House). Beyond that is should be a clean slate each 2 year go around and you should have to prove your keep just like the next person who wants to throw their name in the ring. Your "job" has a start and end date and outside of doing something illegal during that tenure, you have NO valid distraction to do your "job". Any voter who sucks up the "I might get a Primary challenge...therefore I can't do the job of legislating right now" load of bull are the lowest of the low information voter.

You don't get a Primary challenge during your EXISTING job. A Primary challenge only comes into play for NEXT JOB YOU PLAN TO APPLY FOR.

There really is a huge difference between the two. As with all things, if you cherish and handle your business in the job you currently have vs worrying about the next job you want to have, the path to get to that next job is made much easier.

On a positive note. It is pleasant to have to take a moment to pick Nancy Pelosi out of the picture. More women elected shows an increase in acceptance by the American public.

"With only about one in 10 Americans giving Congress a thumbs up, there's little room left to go down."

Lets not use the double dog dare to see how low they can really go. I have a feeling there are some who want our government to fail and some of those people were elected.

IMO: We have about 30-40 years of shame that should be felt by anyone over the age of 30 (the hopeful age of reason) for the times we live in and eveyone is too busy playing "not it" in the blame game instead of actually fixing things.

Given the actions of the previous Tea.O.P. leadership, it's hard to have faith in their abilities.

Woe unto those incurring the wrath of Governor Krispy Kreme.

Chilled you are a fellow texan, right? Really upset about Cruz, if you happened to watch the Senatorial debates he sounded like a polished snake oil salesman. The guy gave no answers on how to deal with issues. When asked about a problem he would state - "Let us be clear that problem X started because of the democratic blah, blah, blah...."

He represents the Tea Party and shucks and jives their message for those still buying their wares. He is supposed to represent all the people of Texas, but he won't.

dan -- how would you define failure?

moron

Pres Obama's Job Approval: 53% / 41% [+12]
Speaker Boehner's job approval is 31% / 51% [-20] ** before the Debt Ceiling vote & the Sandy non-vote
Congressional Approval: 12%

Billybob:

I would define failure as the inability to ensure opportunities for the entire population of the country, the inability to ensure a global comeptitive education for the entire population, food, clothing, shelter, etc. A failure at creating equality for everyone of every creed, gender, race, etc. A failure because we Americans have been fighting the same things for hundreds of years and with all our advancements we fail because it is in the best interests of a few who live large on our collective misery. A failure because generations upon generations sell future generations down the river for their selfish wants for the here and now.

You won't agree and I am not here to get into a pissing match with you billybob nor did I ask for your opinion about my opinion. You asked and this is my way of telling you I don't care to hear your opinion about my opinion. There is your answer, Good day sir.

Dan Austin, TX - you can't see me but I'm bowing to you Sir!

President Obama has done a great job as President in his first four years as President. In the second term we will see even better results.

Also, folks need to realize that President Obama is not the reason for our high debt. That is a total myth cooked up by the extreme right.

dan -- i actually agree with some of your thoughts but am disappointed that you do not want to discuss.

have a nice day.

Chilled & Yellowdog

I'm a Texan, and there is nothing I can say that is positive about Cruz, except maybe that he is smarter than Perry. Which in and of itself, isnt anything positive.

the first Congress without the DeMinted Senator from SC ??

Yep. Lets hope we are not bankrupt in the next six months without someone watching the safe. Cause Barry and Harry are on a drunken spending spree.

Job1 has been smoking crack... anyone that doesn't remember the $800billion stimulus that's now repeated every year on autopilot has to have been.... Oblunder had total control of all both houses of Congress, and chose to squander a trillion dollars plus a year and engineer a govt takeover of healthcare... the latter will be even more squandering and more taxes for all...

Phil-(bunch-ah-numbers) Spending is controlled by the HOUSE. Not the President, not the Senate....the HOUSE. You can peel this onion any way you want but it still comes back to the same issue. The House writes the spending bills, the Senate debates and ratifies the bills and the President signs them into law. That's it. Our Congress has an UGLY mess to clean up. The costs of conducting two wars, implementing Medicare Part D, tax cuts during war time, then the global economic melt down pretty well decimated the Nation's Treasury.

When the economy is up and running again....then we can talk about serious cuts to Social Programs and some of the ridiculous defense budget over-spending and outsourcing. But for right now, for today....lets focus on putting folks back to work and on bringing some Manufacturing jobs back to the USA.

JT - You might want to review how a spending bill becomes law before you lay blame fully on the House. The House does write most spending bills in committees, then the full House votes on the bill, if passed it goes to the Senate where the Senate can approve as written or add amendments to the bill. If the Senate approves the bill as written in the House it goes to the President for signing it into law, (if the Senate makes changes it then goes back to the House for approval of the Senate changes), the President can sign the bill into law or VETO it and send it back to Congress for make changes he wants. Congress can then rewrite the bill or vote to over ride the Presidents veto. So you see that the Senate and President have a lot of control over the spending bills. There is plenty of blame for both the Legislative and Executive Branches of Government.

Now ask the Democratic controlled Senate where their Budget is? Been 3 or 4 yrs without a budget from the Senate.

"there's little room left to go down."

Don't worry, they'll find a way.

This Tea Movement is like a poison to our Country !

JT,
You haven't been paying very close attention. Most bills the House passes and sends to the Senate only to see Harry Reid put the bills on the shelf. The committee doesn't even look at the bills or discuss them. With not committee review, they are not voted on by the committee and thus never get to the Floor for a vote.

When Harry Reid clearly didn't want to give on spending, the republicans turned to Obama to get a break through. No dice, he referred them back to Reid and company. The Republicans finnally got Biden to work out a deal. THEN Biden had to sell the deal to the Democrats in the Senate even though the deal clearly was far more favorable to them.

I think Democrat Pollster Doug Schoen said it best today. "There is no longer a moderate part of the democratic party. It's gone."

Yellowdog & Machine....

Yup, I'm deep in the...well, you know, Home of the Alamo!

Cruz beat out Perrys' choice pick , so what does that say.....and just like his predecessor, Cruz will not represent all Texans, he will follow the TeaPeoples agenda.....I wonder how that plays out for him, being from Canada and all. A Canadian TeaPeople....lol

DB.......

wrong buddy. the reason so many bills never got through the senate was because of republican filibusters. 386 of them. the republicans even filibustered their own bills. pure obstructionism.

And what is left of the Right is now the Ridicules Irrelevant RIGHT. And wait until 2014....bye,bye.and good riddance.

Historical 1sts I'd like to see in this Congress:

1. First Congress in 3 years to establish a national budget (their job)!

2. First Congress to set aside partisanship and actually do work for the People(not themselves).

3. First Congress to establish Congressional term limits.

4. First Congress to establish government spending cap as basis of GDP.

5. First Congress not to establish kneejerk legislation loaded with pork.

6. First Congress to write few page bills that actually only work on one topic.

7. First Congress to ban earmarks in bills.

Oh, how I could go on......

JoeNY said:

4. First Congress to establish government spending cap as basis of GDP.

5. First Congress not to establish kneejerk legislation loaded with pork.

6. First Congress to write few page bills that actually only work on one topic.

7. First Congress to ban earmarks in bills.

You would think Republican house members would love those ideas. Unfortunately it's the Neo-Con scumbags who hold the house leadership. Boehner, Cantor, Graham would all oppose those unfortunately.

Quick! NBC News! Further divide Americans by race, gender and sexual orientation!!!

The Bob Byrd wing of the Democrat Party must be livid over Senator Tim Scott!

Call him Senator!!

Did you see or hear the rant by the NAACP president? I'm not sure who is more looney, the NAACP or the NRA.

I'm black... and can't believe there is still an organization that is only for the advancement of black people. Talk about racist. Isn't it about time we start pushing for the advancement of all Americans regardless of skin color?

The fact that people distinguish him as the only black senator is racist. He is an American senator. Plain and simple.

Now the NAACP can say he may not be liberal enough for them... but doesn't believe in Civil Rights? I don't recall Tim Scott saying white people or asian people or black people shouldn't have equal rights. Does the NAACP think civil rights only applies to black people?

I wish more black people would stop falling for the liberal democratic lies that they are the party of blacks and hispanics. Blacks and hispanics have faired the worst during Obama's reign.

I highly doubt you are black. You are certainly not correct.

Why... because he disagrees with the NAACP. The NAACP has never endorsed a Republican.

@AlaskaGirl

"Strike a cord"?

Is that a Fargo reference?

Are you suggesting that the GOP coalition is headed for the woodchipper?

Oh my!

9 out of 10 people suffer from diarrhea - which means 1 of them enjoys it. Probably that same 1 that approves of Congress.

@AnotherMiddleClass

Why... because he disagrees with the NAACP. The NAACP has never endorsed a Republican.

I highly doubt that... the NAACP was founded in 1909, back when the GOP (the party of Lincoln) had a near-monopoly on the black vote.

At least there are 11 less teabuggers in Congress in this session and hopefully we can "Tread" on all the rest of them next time!

There never was a liberal wing or moderate wing of the republican party! However, by today's standards of right wing extremism Nixon,Goldwater and Reagan would be LIBERALS by comparison!

By the standards of today's republican party, there hasn't been a republican president since Bush the Younger and Dumber who could have got elected! Including the sainted Ronnie Ray-Gun, famous for breaking the backs of the labor unions and managing to get most of it simply not noticed by most of the country, emptying out the mental hospitals and turning our prisons and the downtowns of most of our cities into mental wards where the broken, sick, and homeless are left to prey upon one anonother and act out their delusional states.

There are two very rich, very powerful factions at work that are the ONLY reasons that the republican party still exists, and why it will never change, no matter what. One is the effort of the corporotocracy to privatize every service that government still provides in this country, thus making policing, firefighting, educating the young, and the imprisonment of those society is afraid of and/or finds inconvenient into warehouses for human beings. That last is already well on it's way toward success, by the way. The private prison industry is the largest growth industry in this nation, and most shareholders of these slave labor corporations are republicans who sit in state legislatures or on judicial benches where they have the authority to lengthen sentences and increase punishments for the most meager of charges at whim, thus ensuring that their investments in CCA and Geo will continue to grow.

However, some of the others, such as education, actual policing, etc., have not been fully privatized and we had better hope they never are. A police force paid for by the wealthy will only serve the wealthy. Their property and valuable lives will be cared for and protected against the rest of us, the rif-raff, who will suffer the fates of the brave Occupy protesters who tried to make America sit up and pay attention to who is now controlling their country.

That is the reason why repubs continue to want to weaken and end government. Government serves ALL the people, but private sector businesses only serve those who own them and who pay for their services. Remember the family whose house was allowed to burn down, with their pets inside, because they had not paid the private fire protection's extortion-rate "protection" while their neighbor's house was saved? That will be the future of our property, and as for our lives, if they stand in the way of the coropation's right to rule, well, it only takes a second to become an enemy of the state. Ask a pepper-sprayed or brutalized Occupy protester.

The second, and I won't go into detail because it deserves a post of its' own, is the right-wing political-religious entities' alliance with the party that began in the 70's with the Moral Majority and has currently morphed into the "Religious Right." When fully half of America actually believes that the earth is only 6,000 years old, that evolution is a lie, and that all one has to do in order to enter Heaven is to hate gay people and re-enslave women, first, we aren't going to turn out any scientists or even doctors in the conceivable future, because science is based upon science from the past. And when one believes a book written several thousand years ago by primitive goat-herders is the end-all and be-all of information, then one probably should go ahead and buy themselves a goat or two and find a hillside upon which to herd it. Because there isn't a job seeking applicants anywhere in the world that fits into the 21st century worldview in which that kind of science-bashing and ignorance-loving is a requirement. Why do you think that Asia has completely overtaken us as the source for IT professionals, engineers, and medical professionals? Because they don't have to start from 50 yards behind the starting gate where they have to enter college and first un-learn every lie that their bible-believing parents and teachers have smashed into their brains for the first 12 years of their existence.

The problems of exploitation, oppression, and survival facing humankind can only be solved, ultimately, by the elimination of the exploitative system of capitalism. The U.S. working class, with a long revolutionary history and many powerful mass movements and organizations, has the potential to make this transition happen. That means building unity for peace, for protecting and expanding democracy, for living-wage jobs, for universal health care, for real equality for all those who are nationally or racially oppressed and women, for an end to the political control of the ultra-right over our political institutions, and for an end to the economic rule of the transnational corporations. Building and strengthening organizations of and alliances between the working class and its allies, winning real unity in the course of struggle, is the path from our current struggles ...

RedDev - If Flake was promoted, does that mean he's now, umm, "Head and Shoulders" above his former colleagues?

(grooooan) BOOOOOO!!!! Very punny, JoAnne in PA...

Dear Congress,

Let's start this year better.

1. Filibusters have to be continuous

2. Must be present to be in session

3. No more Super Majority

Yes, cuts are in order. However before you touch your so called entitlement programs let's address some additional costs.....

1. Runaway spending by Home Land Security

2. Runaway cost of Public Sector Workers

3. Runaway costs of Foreign Aid

4. Runaway cost of Military Hardware

5. Runaway cost of CONGRESS

6. Runaway cost of EPA

7. Runaway cost of TSA

When this is done then we can talk about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Welfare, and Unemployment…..

Good idea, but I'm sure Otis has a still hidden somewhere in DC...

amy -- i believe we could do so much more with a congress that worked under a term limit. i believe the founding fathers looked at serving in the congress as a service and sacrifice to the public and not as a career.

when we look at the existing members we see many with decades in the senate. nearly half are millionaires which begs the question how they can identify with everyday Americans

the top ten in seniority average around 30 years, the next 10 about 20 years, the next 10 come in around 16 years.

i think two terms for senators and 5 for representatives would be reasonable. how about you?

Amy, we already have a way to punish them, and billybob, we already have term limits. In both cases they're called "elections". Rather than punish those who take advantage of the system, we should punish those who blindly keep sending them back there to do so. Say what you will (and I know somebody will!) about Super-Pacs, Citizens United, campaign finance reform, etc. - but the fact is, if we want to blame anyone for the failure of our supposed representatives, we have only to look in the mirror. Until we all get more involved in non-presidential election years, until we start paying attention to how our local reps actually vote, until we encourage the other 50% of our (non-voting) friends and family to get off their lazy a$$es and participate in the process, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Until we demand better, we'll keep getting what we ask for.

joanne -- i understand your position and agree but those voting-based term limits rarely work in my experience.

i would be interested in your view regarding career politicians. do you favor say guys like leahy or hatch being in the senate for more than 35 years? regardless of their political affiliation?

I think you are both right, Billybob and Joanne. We do need term limits in Congress and we need actual voter participation in all elections. What was the final count of this past presidential election, 57.5% voter turnout? Something like 93 million eligible voters didn't even bother to vote in November 2012. How sad is that?

billybob -

I have no problem with "career politicians" as such. As someone who's worked at the same job (with occasional promotions, of course!) for 43+ years now herself, I'd like to think those 43 years of experience are a good thing. And I think if a Senator or Congress member is still doing a good job for the people they represent after 43 years, then I think they should be allowed to continue doing it. But the kicker is, it's not really up to me to decide who's doing a good job - unless of course, we're talking Pat Toomey or Bob Casey or Pat Meehan - it's up to the given constituents in a state or district. And I think that just as voting is a privilege, it's also a responsibility - to think, not just keep pulling the same lever over and over. And while I'm a liberal, I think that HAS to be "regardless of affiliation". I can hardly say it's okay if it's Teddy Kennedy but not if it's Orrin Hatch.

On the other hand, if you want to talk term limits for Supreme Court Justices, then hey - I'm right there with you. Okay, maybe not term "limits", but something other than a lifetime term. Judges at other levels come up for re-election; I don't see why they shouldn't have to at least be re-confirmed once or twice - I mean, they have to be held accountable somehow, yes?

Anilof - "Sad" doesn't even begin to cover it. Can we go with "shameful" instead? And wouldn't it be really interesting to know how many people who come on here and spout goofy opinions every day actually back them up by voting in every election? My guess is that the number who don't is a lot higher than most people might think..... or maybe it's just that I really HOPE that half the people on here don't actually vote..... :)

The way to punish Congress is to take away their Lobbyists. If they don't have 7 or 8 figure jobs waiting when they leave because they promised to push some huge company's agenda then they will be punished.

Supporters of DeMint, how can you look at what the man did and not realize he's in the back pocket of Big Business? How can you possibly support an odious human being who will sell his brothers down the river for money and power?

BillyBob,

I agree completely that we need term limits. I think 12 years in Congress, House, Senate, combination, 12 years tops. I think the President should be a max of 12 years as well; a 6 year term, a term out and a second 6 year term if he/she can get reelected.

the President has term limits max is two four year terms

Welcome Senator Lizzy the fake indian Warren (D) MA, and first woman Senator from MA...the IQ of the Senate has now dropped considerably...and that's hard to believe.

That's one black Senator from South Carolina since 1881. There have been several others since then, but too few.

Gay people account for about 10%-12% of the population So statistically, at least 1 in 10 people you randomly meet are gay whether you know it or not. lol

Charlton-2337822 - Who cares about gay issues?

The parents, friends and family of any gay person, and anyone with an ounce of empathy and common sense. But apparently for you, civil rights are only important when they're your civil rights which are denied.

Call me crazy, but I think my gay daughter deserves the same legal rights her straight parents enjoy.

Adler: "Yes, we have term limits, every 2 years for the House and 6 for the Senate."

In the words of that well-known Republican, Meat Loaf - you took the words right out of my mouth!

Happy 2013 to you too!

Sen. Reid will not be nominated for the "Monte Hall Award". His absence was conspicuous after Mr. Biden showed to close the fiscal deal. We may not be hearing too much from Mr. "HR Bill Blocker" Reid.

Yeah, ole Harry Reid got neutered.

Common, you do know that "squaw" is considered a racial slur, don't you?

Sexist as well, but then what do you expect from a "Common Man."

Ok lets all be offended. Both of you, grow up!

He was appointed and doesn't truly represent any actual constituents. If he actually wins the special election to gain a full term then he would be legitimately representing voters who though he was the right person for the job.

The rest of the country would be doing even better if Texas seceeded.

A state can't secede from the Union but I know of no law that says we can't kick them out.

He will only be a legitimate representative when he is duly elected by the voters who believe he is the right guy for the job.

Until then, he is merely a political appointee.

He is a Senator of the United States of America. It doesn't matter whether he was appointed or not, seeing as he was appointed by the Governor of a State that the VOTERS of the State duly elected to REPRESENT THEM.

Geez, you people look for ANY reason to denigrate and dismiss those that aren't liberals, left wingers, tree huggers, or Democrats, don't you?

CherylLM - But of course it's the Republicans that are the racists, right?

A better way to phrase it is that if you're a racist, the odds are very high that you're a Republican.

The same is true of homophobes, xenophobes, misogynists, and Christofascists.

For example, Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), she's the first Hindu-American in this new, 113th Congress.

...and am I imagining things, or do the Dems now have much more diverse, cultural, sexual and racial representation in Congress than the GOP ? I mean, the Republicans Party on Capitol Hill seems to be composed of mostly wealthy, conservative, WASP males.