And So It Begins...

Well, that didn't take long. The Neocons have controlled the House of Representatives for what, a week? They are already busy busy at work, attempting to overturn President Obama's legislative efforts. Today the House voted to repeal many of the provisions of Obama's immigration reform plan, sucking away legal protections from millions of immigrant families.

The NY Times has more:

"The most contentious measures in the bill will most likely die in the Senate, where Democrats have said they will wage a filibuster and some Republicans are likely to join in opposition. The White House has said President Obama will not sign any bill that blocks his executive actions on immigration.

"But the action in the House on Wednesday was a glimpse into how the new Republican-led Congress will navigate the divisive debate over the president's immigration actions as lawmakers struggle to reach a compromise on funding the Department of Homeland Security. The department will run out of money at the end of February, and Republicans have said they will use the appropriations process as their vehicle for dismantling Mr. Obama's directives."

And so it begins. The destruction of the social progress we briefly enjoyed. One wonders, is this what their constituents wanted them to do when they sent them to DC? Maybe -- the more racist among the voting public . . .. but its doubtful the citizens they represent also wanted this crop of conservatives to further wreak economic havoc on the middle class, as they plan to do by repealing the Dodd-Frank Law.

The LA Times explains:

"Boosted by their November election gains, congressional Republicans have launched a new effort to weaken, bit by bit, a law that dramatically expanded federal oversight of the financial system after the Great Recession.

"On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House is expected to pass a package of bills making changes to the 2010 law, known as Dodd-Frank, which also created a powerful new agency to protect consumers.

"The law was enacted over nearly unanimous opposition from Republican lawmakers. Many despise Dodd-Frank almost as much as they do Obamacare because they believe it's an overreaction to the 2008 financial crisis and an unnecessary burden on business.

"Now that Republicans have a Senate majority too, Democrats will have more difficulty stopping attempts to chip away at the law's hundreds of regulations, though President Obama's veto pen still looms in the White House."

Better sharpen up that veto marker, Mr. President -- it's going to be the only device that will prevent these corporate-owned Congressmen from robbing from the poor (and middle) and give to the rich. What kind of fantastic mojo do these Republicans have that they can convince thousands of American citizens to continuously vote against their better interests? To send representatives to DC who will reverse any program that benefits the working lass in favor of the 1%?

The NY Times adds this:

"In the span of a month, the nation's biggest banks and investment firms have twice won passage of measures to weaken regulations intended to help lessen the risk of another financial crisis, setting their sights on narrow, arcane provisions and greasing their efforts with a surge of lobbying and campaign contributions.

"The continuing assault on the 2010 Dodd-Frank law has achieved remarkable success, especially compared with the repeated failures of opponents of another 2010 law, the Affordable Care Act.

"The financial industry has been methodical, drafting technically complicated legislation that can pass the heavily Republican House with a few Democratic votes. And then, once approved, Wall Street has pushed to tack such measures on to larger bills considered too important for the White House to block."