Pelosi: Democrats Will Insist on Changes to U.S. Spending Bill
U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that she was insisting that two controversial items be removed from a $1.1 trillion government spending bill unveiled.
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Democrats future in Louisiana
Bob Mann and James Varney of NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune discuss the future of the Democratic Party in Louisiana. The party no longer holds any statewide-elected offices after the defeat...
By: NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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Democrats future in Louisiana - Video
Senate Democrats Demand Obama Administration Forgive Corinthian Students #39; Debts
Senate Democrats Demand Obama Administration Forgive Corinthian Students #39; Debts.
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Matthews: This is a revolution in the Democratic party / Democrats
Matthews: This is a revolution in the Democratic party Chris Matthews tells viewers to remember the date. It may be the birthday for a Democratic party that #39;s regained its reason to be,...
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Matthews: This is a revolution in the Democratic party / Democrats - Video
For much of the last six years, liberal Democrats in Congress have been loyal foot soldiers for their often unpopular president. Now, a rare clash between President Obama and members of his own party suggests Democrats on the left may be marching in a new direction.
Democratic feuding over a $1.1-trillion government funding measure that passed the House on Thursday threw into the open a growing fracture between the president and congressional Democrats, a split that is likely to play a crucial role in the president's final two years in office.
Blaming Obama for the midterm losses and long resenting his reluctance to court his own natural political constituency, Democrats in the House and Senate blasted the spending bill as a giveaway to Wall Street and big-moneyed interests. The White House said it was the best deal available.
The ultimately unsuccessful revolt that followed, which pitted the president against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), signaled Democrats' new openness to a more hard-line approach and perhaps a new torchbearer.
"I just want our Democrats to feel strong enough to fight not to cave in, not to be influenced or intimidated," said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), expressing liberals' frustration after an evening of tense meetings Thursday. Democrats will be "putting up a strong fight and getting ready for next year."
At the heart of this dispute and the likely clashes coming in the New Year are the conflicting motivations of a legacy-minded president and comeback-focused Democrats.
While Democrats are searching for ways to flex their muscle after an electoral drubbing in November, the president is looking for ways to tally up some legislative accomplishments before he leaves office. That goal will inevitably mean working with the new Republican majority in the Senate.
The president summed up his approach Friday when he acknowledged there were parts of the massive spending measure he "really [did] not like," but said it was the best deal on the table.
"Overall, this legislation allows us to build on the economic progress and the national security progress that's important," Obama told reporters. "Had I been able to draft my own legislation and get it passed without any Republican votes, I suspect that it would be slightly different. That's not the circumstance we find ourselves in."
The measure moved Friday to the Senate, which is expected to pass the bill in the coming days.
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President Obama, Democrats face rift exposed by spending bill debate