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With the death of US Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) the Democrats lose their sixty-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. This will make the passing of Obama agenda legislation -- specifically healthcare -- more difficult until Massachusetts seats its next Junior Senator, who promises to be a Democrat. The loss of even one Democrat in the Senate is cause for concern for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) because he has a rogue element within his Democrat caucus, the Blue Dog Democrats. In Washington, it is all about counting the votes at any given moment on any piece of legislation. As they say, politics makes for strange bedfellows. 

In the US House of Representatives the Democrats have a lock on the majority. According to the Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives, the congressional profile stands at: 256 Democrats, 178 Republicans, 0 Independents and 1 Vacancy. These numbers give the Democrats, as a party, a 78 vote majority in the House.

In the Senate, Democrats have a lock on a majority as well: Democrats number 57, Republicans have 40 seats, and Independents and Independent Democrats have one seat each. 

In addition to the fact that it matters which party is in the majority, in both chambers of Congress, it also matters who the parties elect as their leaders. 

In the Senate, the majority of Democrats elected Harry Reid (D-NV) as their Majority Leader. The minority Republicans settled on Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as their leading voice. 

The 256 Democrat members of the 111th Congress voted to seat Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as the Speaker of the House and de facto Majority Leader, although the literal title belongs to Steny Hoyer (D-MD). The Republicans voted to seat John Boehner (R-OH) as their Minority Leader. 

In both chambers, it would seem, Democrats have the power in all things and there is nothing that can be done to skew that reality. This perceived reality, of course, depends on all Democrats always voting the party line. This is not always the case and we are seeing a perfect example of this in the health care insurance reform initiative currently under way.

As our Legislative Branch was set-up by our Framers, the US House of Representatives was to serve as the immediate voice of the people; the "people's body." In contrast to the Senate, each elected representative has a lesser number of people to represent and is, therefore, more accessible to his or her constituency. It is also true that the relationship between Congressman and constituent is more direct in that no person has ever become a member of the US House by appointment or any means other than standing for election by the people. It is because of this direct relationship to the voter --  to We the People -- that the Framers empowered the Constitution to grant sole authority to the House to originate all bills relating to finance, and subsequently to levy taxes and spend government money. 

Today, the Legislative Branch of the federal government has moved to incorporate intra-party political factions into the execution of government. This is absolutely antithetical to the original intent of the Framers of our Charters of Freedom -- The Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution and The Bill of Rights -- in that it places a greater importance on special interest and ideological groups than it does on providing superior constituency service. 

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