Most excellent news! "Democrats United in Plans to Block Top Bush Initiatives". Hallellujah! Details below fold.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/011105I.shtml
Democrats United in Plans to Block Top Bush Initiatives
By Dan Balz
The Washington Post
Monday 10 January 2005
As President Bush prepares for his second term, Democrats in Washington and around the country are organizing for a year of confrontation and resistance, saying they are determined to block Bush's major initiatives and thereby deny him the mandate he has claimed from his reelection victory last November.
The Democrats' mood and posture represent a contrast to that of four years ago, after Bush's disputed victory over Al Gore. Then, despite anger and bitterness over how the 2000 election ended, Democrats were tentative and initially open to Bush's calls for bipartisan cooperation. Today, despite Bush's clear win over Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Democrats across the ideological spectrum say they are united in their desire to fight.
In part that mood reflects the reality that Democrats are even more of a minority party than they were when Bush was sworn in four years ago, their ranks smaller in both the House and Senate and their ability to influence the legislative agenda sharply diminished.
But the unity of purpose also underscores a hardening of attitudes among Democrats - from elected officials and strategists to grass-roots activists and party constituencies - that Bush's domestic agenda presents opportunities to divide the GOP, break apart Bush's winning coalition and recapture some of the voters who supported Bush last fall.
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