The Republican Party may be the majority political party, in control of Congress and the vast majority of state governorships. But U.S. President Bill Clinton controls U.S.' political agenda.
Clinton wants to increase taxes (81 different, small hikes), create a panoply of new social programs (additional spending would run to nearly $5 trillion over the next 15 years) and get the government involved in the stock market (Uncle Sam would eventually become the nation's biggest investor via Social Security). This is impressive stuff from someone who was only recently impeached.
The GOP originally came out swinging: Smaller government, individual retirement accounts and across-the-board tax cuts were all on the agenda. The program was even popular. A Rasmussen Research poll found that 68 percent of people supported a 10 percent across-the-board cut. Only 18 percent were against.