"This Congress did a lot, but what is next?"

As the 111th congress comes to an end, we must realize, for all the grief and irritation they have given us, it had managed to pass a whole lot of legislation. In fact, the 111th passed more legislation than any other congress since the 60s. It even managed to go out with a bang, with the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell', the passage of the start treaty, and the Bush era tax cuts.

This can be quite similar to 1964 with the 89th congress when the Democrats gained a majority in both houses. In the two years it was in session, it and LBJ managed to pass a whole lot of legislation, like the Voting rights act and Medicare. However, in the 1966 midterm elections, public backlash to LBJ's Great Society helped the Republicans gain 47 seats in the House. This shows that productivity doesn't always mean success in the elections, sound familiar? I can't say that I know that 111th's legislation can be considered successful and important legislation, since time hasn't told anyone yet, but the story sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

I doubt we will see that the next congress will be just as productive, but we can never rule out the possibility (yes we can actually, but always look on the bright side of life, right?). Hopefully, we can manage some bipartisan stuff down the road. So what do you think?

-a G.U. from the Spiral King