Everybody knows that Democrats had great success in the 2008 Congressional elections, but how difficult can Republican opposition make Obama’s attempts to institute a progressive agenda? Council ED John Isaacs just published a fantastic article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on exactly this.
After proposing that an early Republican strategy of “Just Say No” to many Obama initiatives – from bills on health care for children to home foreclosures – is indicative of what’s to come, John breaks down foreign policy issues into those he believes Congress could make for Obama “merely ‘tough problems’” (negotiations with Iran and missile defense), “nothing more than a grumble” (troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan), and “extremely challenging issues” (the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty [CTBT] and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty [START]).
Those “extremely challenging issues” unfortunately include two of the arms control movement’s primary goals for the coming years, but we’re up for the fight, and John thinks there’s reason for optimism:
Despite facing a determined, but small, GOP opposition, President Obama has moved–and will continue to move–full-speed ahead with a number of dramatic changes in U.S. policy. In the process he already has kicked over the Republican hornet’s nest. The question in the months ahead will be whether Republicans will merely buzz around angrily in opposition or in some cases actually block decisions.
Click here for the full article.
