“Republicans sharply limited Democrats’ influence“?

I think the word they should have used here is ‘annihilated’. And with good reason. If Republicans had maintained their majority in ‘06, there wouldn’t have been much difference this past year. Oh, maybe a lot of time would have been saved on investigations - that ultimately went no where! Sure, Gonzo stepped down. But did that really change anything?

Majority Democrats’ Power Checked by GOP

The look of failure

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats running Congress for the first time in more than a decade faltered at key points this year as they grudgingly passed important bills that many, or even most, of their House members opposed. When Republicans were in charge, they pledged to avoid such a fate.

Republican solidarity also forced House Democrats to abandon a campaign promise to pay for new programs with tax increases or budget cuts, and thereby not resort to new deficit spending.

In the Senate, Republicans repeatedly used their filibuster powers to block or weaken Democratic proposals. Backed by President Bush’s veto threats, the minority party managed to sharply limit the Democrats’ influence on a range of issues throughout the year.