Republicans are already acting like they have won the Senate, by planning and announcing the agenda for when they are in charge.
Republicans are putting together an agenda for the first 100 days of 2015 in case they win control of the Senate.
Authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, approving “fast-track” trade authority, wiping out proposed environmental regulations and repealing the medical device tax top their list.
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“Those would all be positive things. You could come up with a list of very positive things and all of us are thinking about those,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who is poised to become chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee under a GOP takeover.
The agenda that they are discussing seems very small. What is borderline insane about it is that Senate Republicans think it will create jobs. One might have thought that they would have learned when they tried this during the Reagan and Bush years that rolling back environmental regulations doesn’t create jobs. Keystone XL is not a job creator either. It is a project that only enrich the oil companies that will sell the oil overseas.
It is arrogant for Republicans to be laying out an agenda for a Senate that they may not win control of. If Democrats in key states needed any more motivation to take this election seriously, the Senate Republicans just gave it to them. The fact is that control of the Senate hinges on several close elections around the country. If Republicans stumble in one or two contests, they will not be in the majority.
This is not the time to be measuring the drapes. Republicans may live to regret discussing an agenda that will never be.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
