THE GUARDIAN: The phoney peace is over: US right plans to tackle healthcare reforms and federal budget
The Republican party is to use the new Congress, which begins on Wednesday, to mount a guerrilla campaign aimed at destroying Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, slashing the federal budget and preparing the ground for his defeat in the 2012 White House race.
When the Senate and House convene at noon, both will be awash with Republican members elected in November's crushing victories over the Democrats, many of them backed by the Tea Party movement.
In a political shift comparable to the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995 and the Democrats in 2007, the Republicans have a strong platform to harry Obama, having won control of the House and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate.
The handover of power in the House will take place on Wednesday after a bipartisan prayer service at St Peter's Catholic church. Members will vote in the House for a new Speaker, and Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold that post, will pass the gavel to the Republican leader, John Boehner.
Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues are to meet behind closed doors in Washington tomorrow to discuss strategy for coping with the shift in power and how to protect the gains they have made over the last two years. Read on and comment >>> Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Monday, January 03, 2011
