..."In recent weeks, it appeared that party leaders might have started to realize the political costs of saying no to everything....Senator Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner grasped that the fiscal-cliff deal with President Obama was quite favorable to Republicans, compared with no deal, and supported its passage. Last month, Mr. Boehner purged four Tea Party ringleaders from their committees. On Friday, House leaders temporarily backed off their debt-ceiling threat.... But both men have been vilified by the right wing... The upcoming session will give Republican leaders a chance to ignore pressure from the right and begin working with Democrats. The tests are coming quickly: Will they block all gun-control proposals and a reasonable immigration plan? Will they force a government shutdown to resist new revenues and demand cuts to safety-net programs? " |
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I began teaching in 1963,; Ba and BS in Education -Brooklyn College. I have the equivalent of 2 additional Master's, mainly in Literacy Studies and Graphic Design. I was the only seventh grade teacher of English from 1990 -1999 at East Side (more...)