The most ethical Congress evah returns to Capital hill today.  As I wrote last week, there are a lot of things on the agenda, most of which are wishes and dreams.

There are two important pieces of legislation that will have to be tackled right off the bat, though:  The extension of the Bush tax cuts and the START Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty.

The START treaty, which has been pending in the Senate for months,would reduce the limit on strategic warheads to 1,550 for each country from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also would set up new procedures to allow both countries to inspect each other’s arsenals to verify compliance.

The treaty was signed by President Barack Hussein Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April and is waiting to be ratified by the Senate.  Before the Midterms, this would have sailed through.  Now, it won’t be so easy, with Senators looking over their shoulders, scared by the righteous indignation of the American people, who spoke in a loud and clear voice on November 2nd.

Then, there’s the Bush Tax Cuts.  Of course, Scooter and his minions have been adamant about raising the taxes of American families making $250,00 or more, while Republicans and the majority of the American people want all the Bush Tax Cuts extended.

The smell of compromise is in the air.  The WH has been signaling that they may be agreeable to extending the tax cuts for the so-called wealthy for a couple of more years, while indefinitely extending the rest of the cuts.

The problem, as usual, is Obama himself.  He’s still of the opinion that over-taxing those who actually create jobs and put Americans to work is no big deal.  Obama told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from an Asia trip:

It won’t significantly boost the economy, and it’s hugely expensive. So we can’t afford it.

Obama then allowed the possibility of compromise to remain open:

If they feel very strongly about it, then I want to get a sense of … how they intend to pay for it.

Republicans have signalled back that they would be willing to talk about it, but they realize that the folks back home do not want their taxes raised. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has introduced legislation that would permanently extend the current tax rates for all income levels,said in a statement:

I’m willing to listen to what the president has in mind for protecting Americans from tax increases.

Two other Republican leaders said on Sunday that Congress may only be able to come up with a short term-continuation of the current tax rates.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)said:

If the president wants to compromise on a two or three-year extension … if that’s all we can get out of the president, and he is the president, so we’ll work with him on that.

Our ol’ buddy Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he would be alright with a short-term extension of all the tax cuts. The World Champion reacher-across-the aisle voted against the Bush tax cuts, claiming that they disproportionately benefited wealthy Americans and did not reign spending.

He opined that:

They should be extended until we are out of this recession. At such time we can look at other tax hikes. But when we’re in a serious recession I cannot believe that raising taxes is a good thing on anybody.

Wow.  How profound.  Gee, John.  Ya think?

Meanwhile, Freshmen Orientation Classes begin for almost 100 incoming members of the House of Representatives, chosen by the American voters 13 days ago.

Yesterday, there were four events held at the same time for the newbie Congresscritters:  A meet and greet at the Capitol Hill Club, sponsored by the Claremont Institute, a forum at the Regan Building, held by the Constitutional Congress, a third meeting, also at the Reagan Building, organized by the Tea Party Patriots, and. of course, the formal orientation session, held at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel.

The TPP, apparently upset at being ignored yesterday, issued a memo, intercepted by Fox News:

Don’t Let them Steal OUR New Members of Congress. They are apparently trying to make sure that instead of sitting with grassroots tea party leaders from around the country, the lobbyists and consultants can sink their claws into the freshmen and begin to ‘teach them’ the ways of DC.

The TPP went on to publish on the internet the personal cell phone numbers and email addresses of every freshman Republican member. TPP backers then blasted the government-issued BlackBerries of the freshman GOPers with tons of voice messages and emails.

While I understand the TPP’s concern, I think that they should have allowed these neophytes to take their place on the playing  field first before they tackled them.  These incoming Freshmen know what the American people expect of them.  That message was sent loud and clear on November 2nd.  They, along with their veteran colleagues, know the consequences of failing to follow through with the mandate that they were given on that historic day.  They talked the talk to get to Capitol Hill.  Now, it’s up to them to walk the walk.