WaPo via Steve:

As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking.

House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans.

But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories.

Goddess be praised! After many long years of being shut out, it seems at least some of the Dem leadership has learned a thing or two.

Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who will become House speaker, and Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, who will become majority leader, finalized the strategy over the holiday recess in a flurry of conference calls and meetings with other party leaders. A few Democrats, worried that the party would be criticized for reneging on an important pledge, argued unsuccessfully that they should grant the Republicans greater latitude when the Congress convenes on Thursday.

First, I want a list of who these 'worried Democrats' are. They should then become the focus of a progressive swarm, reminding them of a couple of facts. First off: the media isn't going to not criticize you. Normally I'd say "nor should they," but in this case I'm sure it'll be more of the same, and the SCLM slandering and misrepresenting anything a Democrat says or does. Either way, worrying about being criticized is exactly the last thing the new majority should be worrying about. Secondly: no one in the American electorate outside of hard-core junkies follows that sort of procedural detail closely. What they *do* follow is results. Get something done, something that normal people can see and feel, and trust me- no amount of media bullshit will cause them to withdraw the support they've just given you.

The episode illustrates the dilemma facing the new party in power. The Democrats must demonstrate that they can break legislative gridlock and govern after 12 years in the minority, while honoring their pledge to make the 110th Congress a civil era in which Democrats and Republicans work together to solve the nation's problems. Yet in attempting to pass laws key to their prospects for winning reelection and expanding their majority, the Democrats may have to resort to some of the same tough tactics Republicans used the past several years.

Democratic leaders say they are torn between giving Republicans a say in legislation and shutting them out to prevent them from derailing Democratic bills.

"There is a going to be a tension there," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the new chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "My sense is there's going to be a testing period to gauge to what extent the Republicans want to join us in a constructive effort or whether they intend to be disruptive. It's going to be a work in progress."

Christ on a cracker some people are dense. After a decade and more of Republican backstabbing, obstruction, looting, lying, collusion and cronyism, some Democrats still want to give the Republicans a chance? Today's Republicans cannot be trusted. That's not rhetoric, that's fact based in mountains of evidence.

I have to run, but I recall, off the top of my head, dirty trick after un-bipartisan trick when the Republicans had power. Shutting out Dems from commitees, last minute introduction of bills, late night votes, ethics violations on the floor of Congress itself, stealing computer data and reading emails of Democrats and their caucuses, Jesus- I'm not even trying here. Wake up Democrats, it's time to play hardball. The Republicans are only waiting for you to show them weakness. Like jackals, they will move in for a kill with every Pollyanna offering you give them. And mock your weakminded foolishness for doing so afterwards.

House Republicans have begun to complain that Democrats are backing away from their promise to work cooperatively. They are working on their own strategy for the first 100 hours, and part of it is built on the idea that they might be able to break the Democrats' slender majority by wooing away some conservative Democrats.

For crying out loud, Congress isn't even in session and the Republicans are already lying about their promises. I'm not surprised. It's long past time to look at the fraking record, and see that the Republicans are all talk when it comes to "working together," and all for themselves when it comes to what is done in Congress. If it doesn't help them politically, or make them and their corporate buddies richer, they're not interested. cf. The last ten years and more.

As Steve notes, Democrats enjoy a huge margin in Congress right now, not so much in the Senate, but at least in the house they've got a 33 seat margin. Use it, for gawd's sake, or surely you will lose it. The people gave you this power because they expect you to do something with it, not dance around in endless circles of Beltway Kabuki niceties.