With the election now over and the balance of power shifting in favor of the Republicans, the congress will have to find a new way forward.
The House will in all likelyhood be presided over by Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. In a letter sent to his colleagues asking for their support in his bid for Speaker of the House, Boehner said he would put an end to comprehensive bills that provide too many different issue to be debated. It's a good start and I think he needs to enforce it with a 72 hour rule that would give members of the house a fighting chance to understand what is in the legislation. The oft repeated gaffe by Nancy Pelosi that we have to pass the bill (Obamacare) so we find out whats in it should be the inscription placed on the tombstone for her tenure as speaker. As a bill that still cannot find a majority support among the American population was being derided by the public, she was telling voters that they didn't need to know what was in it. Whether she intended that to be the message or not, it made many voters feel their input was not important. It is still up for debate as to whether that is a primary motivation for voter reaction, it needs to be taken into consideration, the next time the party in power pushes through major legislation without broad public support.
