Politics
Obama and the GOP – Power struggle continues
And top Senate Democrat Harry Reid warned: “If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate.” Other sweeteners included in the House bill to win Republican votes, including an attempt to defund part of Obama’s healthcare law, are also likely to be stripped out by the Democratic Senate.
The new wrangling is likely to further run out the clock towards the Christmas holidays, as any changed Senate bill will have to go back to the House for another vote.
Keystone also looms as a tough end-of-year vote for Democratic lawmakers torn between their president and a project touted as a job creator.
“The president is serious. But in politics, I think everybody understands that you get the best deal you can,” said Representative Emanuel Cleaver, an ally of Obama, apparently suggesting the president could back down.
Christmas showdowns between Obama and Congress are nothing new and help set the tone for the political fights to come.
In his first festive season in office in 2009, the president fought up until Christmas Eve to win Senate passage of his landmark health care reform law.
Last year, Obama dueled with Republicans, agreeing an extension to Bush-era tax cuts and winning Senate ratification of a new nuclear deal with Russia, a victory which replenished his political stock after a mid-term election rout.
Copyright 2011 AFP.
