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John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Congressional Republicans have made it crystal clear;  no new legislation will be considered until two major, overriding issues are dealt with successfully.    The first issue,  the one with the highest priority, is extensions to the so-called Bush tax cuts.  The second issue, the one with the most dire economic consequences, is the lifting of the U.S. national debt ceiling.  In the more normal times that existed before the coming of the Great Recession in 2008, it would be …

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This week the newly elected Congress began the orientation process for its newest members.  This was in preparation for the swearing-in proceedings to be held in January 2011.   A mere two weeks after the decisive victory  that swept the Republicans into power,  many of the “freshmen” representatives  have pledged to stay true to the promises made to the voters in their districts during the political campaign.   Although the concept of pledging to fulfill campaign promises is nothing new for newly elected politicians, they  soon will …

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Eight days from now the 2010, mid-term elections will be over, thank goodness!  The only groups to be sad about this fact will be the advertising and marketing firms enriched by producing the “political campaign messages”, and the  remaining Democrats, who have managed to hang on to their seats for another term.  There is little doubt that the surviving Democrats will be a sadder but wiser bunch of legislators, as a whole new breed of Republicans will descend upon Congress.   The most likely election outcome will be a …