Left Loses Patience With Congressional Democrats

Although many conservatives were bummed out when the Democrats gained control of the House and Senate last November, I saw a definite silver lining in the dark cloud of their victory. Namely that now the ball is in their court and I knew there was no way the Democrats could satisfy the leftwing loonies who now dominate their party. As a result we saw the Congressional Democrats recently suggest that they might cut off funding for the troops only to back away from it later. This indecisiveness on the part of the Democrats does not bode well for them in the 2008 elections. Had the Democrats not won majorities in the House and Senate they would now be able to passively claim that they don't control the agenda. Instead, their antics will make it MUCH harder for them to win control of Congress (and the White House) in '08. Meanwhile the loony left is daily growing angrier and angrier at the Congressional Democrats for their inability to take a stand as you can see in the Daily Kos KOmmie THREAD titled, "Congressional Democrats: Stop fiddling while Baghdad burns." So let us now watch the KOmmies screech at the Congressional Democrats in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, who is fiddling while KOmmieland burns, is in the [brackets]:

Congressional Democrats: Stop fiddling while Baghdad burns

[Congressional Democrats: Keep fiddling while Left burns.]

I have been one of the more ardent supporters of the new congressional Democratic majority since they took office in early January. In my opinion, their first week on the job was quite successful, particularly in how unified the caucus was. And when there was criticism at Daily Kos of the week-old Democratic majority about their lack of action on Iraq after 10 days on the job, I defended our congressional leadership, noting that they had already accomplished a great deal and were beginning to talk up various plans for how to put an end to our involvement in Iraq.

[Unified? You mean how the Democrats defied the explicit wish of Nancy Pelosi and instead voted for Steny Hoyer whom she HATES as their Majority Leader?]

It's been 2 months to the day that Democrats were inaugurated into the majority. At this point, the embarrassing lack of leadership from congressional Democrats needs to stop now. The more they fiddle while Baghdad burns, the more the Iraqi conflicts becomes our war - just as much as it has been George Bush's war.

[The last I checked it was also YOUR war because the Democrats voted for the Iraq War Resolution, much as they would like to forget that.]

The first sign of ineptitude came in the Senate on the initial nonbinding resolutions: the first one was derailed 49-47 in a cloture vote. The second one garnered more support, but cloture once again was not attained by a 56-34 margin. Think about the absurdity of these resolutions to begin with. We failed to get enough votes to 'begin' to have debate a nonbinding resolution. What exactly is that going to accomplish? The media was playing it up to be an historic rebuke, but how historic can it be? Such a measure will end up in the tiny footnotes of history, not something looked upon as precedent-setting or meaningful.

[And there will be many more signs of Democrat ineptitude in the near future.]

What the initial escapade showed was that congressional Democrats, particularly in the Senate, didn't have a damn clue what they were trying to accomplish. After Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Joe Biden (D-DE) introduced their nonbinding resolution with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), they were promptly co-opted by a measure introduced by Senators John Warner (R-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Ben Nelson (D-NE). Many in the blogosphere have praised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for being a master strategist, but in his short time as majority leader, it appears that he was far better at keeping a threatened minority united than in shepherding a majority forward - and this failure to pass the weakest of statements on the situation of Iraq was the first proof of this.

[Dingy Harry is a Master of Ineptitude. However, historically, being the Senate Majority Leader is a nearly impossible task. Few leaders in either party could handle it. If it makes you feel better, Bill Frist also failed in this regard.]

What's worse, in my eyes, is the grandstanding that has been done by the presidential candidates. Each of them have their own ideas about what should be done. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007 with Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Patrick Murphy (D-PA). Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has offered the Iraq Troop Reduction & Protection Act of 2007. Biden continues to stand by his plan to partition Iraq into three ethnics states. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) has his own bill to cap troop levels. In particular, Obama and Clinton both offer specific dates by which to draw down troops. The intellectually dishonest part of offering their own separate bills is that it's extremely likely that because of Democratic disunity on how to deal with Iraq, none of their bills will ever see the light of day in either the House or the Senate. Instead, these bills seem like nothing more than an attempt to win political points with primary voters. Let's take Obama's bill, for example. What sense does it make to have the centerpiece of his Iraq policy for his presidential campaign be withdrawal by March 2008 - when the election he is attempting to be the Democratic nominee for is not until November of the same year? In short, the only way Obama's bill - or any of the other bills - has a chance of passing by the dates the candidates claim to support withdrawal by is if they take action in Congress now, irregardless of their presidential aspirations. It particularly pains me to say this of Obama, as I support him for president and because I volunteered a good deal of my time in the fall for Representative Murphy, his co-sponsor on the bill. If the Democratic presidential candidates are serious about ending the war on Iraq, why don't they band together and offer a joint policy that incorporates the best aspects of each of their plans? That would be audacious. That would show leadership. That would show the ability to compromise in a constructive fashion, a fashion that has been absent from Washington under the current administration. And it would certainly be better than the complete lack of leadership either Reid or Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have shown on Iraq.

[The Audaciousness of Hype.]

I don't mean to say that there has been no leadership from congressional Democrats on Iraq. The problem is that the leaders in Congress don't particularly seem eager to even address ways by which we can begin to bring our troops home.

[Ostrich leadership.]

According to Reid, we should be hearing about Iraq in the Senate soon. What plan he and other Senate Democrats will come out with, though, seems to be quite the mystery. The House doesn't seem much better, as Democratic leadership is now backing away from Murtha's plan. Additionally, it seems like our Majority Leader in the lower chamber is stepping back to assess the political consequences of any action taken...

[Is The Democrat Iraq Mystery Plan inside Box #1, #2, or #3?]

In short, Democrats have got to stop trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. If we campaigned to change the course of the country - especially our involvement in Iraq - we have to deliver. It took the country 6 years, but they finally woke up to the fact that the Republican claims that electing Democrats would embolden the enemy was complete bunk. They'll turn on us just as quickly if we don't stop our involvement in Iraq as soon as possible. We can no longer claim we don't have the power to stop this war. We do. And trying to use the war for political gain each day that there is inaction will reek more and more of hypocrisy.

[Actually, by opposing the surge, the Democrats are trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And the thing the Democrats fear most is victory in Iraq.]

My message to congressional Democrats is this: stop fiddling around while more of our money goes to waste. Stop fiddling around with resolutions that you know will accomplish absolutely nothing.

[My message to congressional Democrats is this: keep on fiddling around. It keeps you harmless AND hilarious. And now on to more KOmmie frustration with the Democrats...]

We were a great asset to the Democratic cause this past election. But if they don't do their job, we're going to raise a lot of hell until they end this war.

[That's going to be FUn to watch.]

I don't know why the hell the Democrats are acting like their still the opposition party in congress.

[12 years of training is hard to undo.]

Murtha's plan is excellent. Then the GOP media machine starts screeching about a 'slow bleed', and Democrats turn on him.

[Did they lock up his liquor cabinet?]

Dem Congresspeople could walk out of session in protest. Conyers could fire up impeachment hearings. All kinds of options are available to us. Instead we're looking for clever ways to rationalize our inaction.

[Please remain in that fetal position until November '08.]

Maybe we need a "Fiddling Anonomous" support group.

[LOL!]

Not Fiddling Anonymous. More like Democrats Anonymous. They skulk around like they're a bunch of pedophiles or something, scared to death of their dirty little secret is about to be revealed. I f*cking don't understand it. What's so shameful about being right? What's so shameful about having the high moral ground? There's a surefire reply to being smeared, and that's to stand up as one and say, loudly and proudly, "Have you no shame?" That's what finally shut down Joe McCarthy, and that would shut the Rethugs down too. But nooooooo. No, instead we've got namby-pambying and tail-between-the-legs timidity. "Please don't call us names! Please don't say mean things about us! We'll give you all our lunch money, we promise!" F*ck that noise, and fuck them. If they're going to insist on acting like being a Democrat is akin to having a social disease, then f*ck them.

[Actually, being a Democrat IS akin to having a social disease.]

Congress reminds me of the onlookers...at the murder of Kitty Genovese. About 35 neighbors who saw her being murdered in cold blood and did nothing.

[Didn't one of the onlookers call the ACLU to inquire about the rights of the assailant?]

Haven't heard much from Pelosi. This is the last real major thing written on Pelosi about Iraq. It says that she seemed to support something similar to Murtha's proposal. That being said, she's pretty much hung him out to dry in the past week or so. She needs to tell Hoyer and the Blue Dogs to shut up.


[Is Nancy Pelosi even SPEAKING to Steny Hoyer?]

She knew what the factions were coming in to the Speakership. So what does it say about her leadership?

[Lousy.]

I haven't heard a statement from her recently that makes me feel confident that I understand her current stance. I may have missed it, but she does seem quiet on the issue during the last week or so.

[Ostrich leadership at work again.]

The Senate is almost hopeless so the House must lead. The Speaker is our best hope for meaningful action.

[A Speaker who won't even speak to her own Majority Leader.]

I'm sure her staff reads Daily Kos. What Pelosi should really understand and pay atttention to is that it is not just us "left wing nut jobs" who made her majority leader, but a majority of America who want us out of this bloody war. I hate to be vulgar, but, "Nancy, it is time to 'shit or get off the pot.'" You shall either do the job American elected you to do, or there will be no reason why America should trust the Demoracts anymore than they trust the Repubicans. Come on, Nancy, make us proud! Make America proud! Put down your "fiddle."

[I'm sort of fond of Nancy's fiddle tunes played while on the pot.]

Life was so much better from 2002-2006, wasn't it?

[Nostalgia for the good ol' days when the Democrats could just slide by as the Minority Party.]

Who's seen Back to the Future? The Republicans in Congress are Biff and the Democrats are George McFly. Always being pushed around....

[What are you looking at butthead?]

I really think that this site along with the other Progressive blogs really have to start talking about 3rd party. If not we might as well shut all of this down because all of our talking means nothing when the people down in DC don't care anything about what we say here.

[Ralph Nader is tanned, rested, and ready.]

I simply cannot believe the ongoing disunity, grandstanding, fear, overcaution, posturing and even cowardice among the Dems so far.

[I can believe it.]

The Democratic Party has been in the majority for two full months now. So far they have not ended the war in Iraq or impeached the President. With a majority in the House and a razor thin majority in the Senate, this is very disappointing. I'm beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea for the Democrats to get the majority last November. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

[And now you see the silver lining in the dark Democrat victory cloud of last November.]

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