July 18, 2007
Pitiful, Just Pitiful!
After an all night debate, Senate Republicans have successfully blocked an effort by the Democratic leadership from removing U.S. Troops from Iraq by the end of April 2008. The final vote on the cloture issue was 52 TO 47 with only 4 Republicans supporting the measure: Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and joining these three was Sen. Susan Collins also of Maine who is up for re-election next year.
The Republicans in the Senate (and elsewhere) have stated that this was a useless political stunt by the Democrats who continue to harp on an issue that they do not have the power to change. But, I disagree, the move by the Democrats has two purposes, one of which is not intended, but more about that later. The primary purpose of this "useless" debate is to sway public opinion for a period of time long enough so that the Republicans will eventually "give up" and support the Dems in their efforts to be the de facto "Commander in Chief." And, if the Republicans are as spineless as they have been in the past, it might just work.
The other purpose that I alluded to above is that this really does show how the Democrats are less interested in solving this issue (pull out vs. come up with a real plan to win the war against the Islamofascist elements of Islam) than in giving in to a mistaken interpretation of the mandate of the last election. The Democrats truly believe that they were elected to get us out of Iraq, but the reality is that it was more a vote against entrenched Republican spend-a-holics who had the taint (real and imagined) of corruption. That the Democrats in congress are equally corrupt, if not decidedly more so, does not seem to have entered the minds of the electorate. And, I have to hand it to the Dems, they did a masterful job of painting the Republicans as do nothing but spend, hand money over to corrupt lobbyist like Jack Abramoff and pseudo-pedophiles like the congressman from Florida.
Be that as it may, Republicans voted Dem in a fairly large number of places electing an awful lot of Blue Dog Democrats to replace Republicans, but the truth of the matter is that those individuals are going to be "at risk" come the next election and if the Democrats continue to play their silly little games they will loose out in the Senate as well. And, don't think America doesn't remember and think about comments from idiots like Harry Reid (D. Nevada) stating that the war will equal votes for Democrats.
In fact, I think I just may encourage Democrats to keep on doing what they are doing. It will just prove how insane the current Democrat leadership is; the definition of insanity being "To keep doing the same thing expecting a different result."
Score card: Reps = 1; Dems = 0
Pitiful, just pitiful!
Update: Fausta sees it the way I do, but she has photographic evidence of Harry Reid reaching for Nirvana. Go and read the whole thing.
Posted by gmroper at July 18, 2007 11:29 AM | TrackBackThe definition of insanity being "To keep doing the same thing expecting a different result."
I look at what's going on in Iraq and say the same thing... except, of course, I'm referring to Republicans.
Posted by e. nonee moose at July 18, 2007 10:57 AM
But Moose, it only works if you are talking about War. Several different approaches have been tried, the most recent called the surge, which seems to be working. That is hardly doing the same thing, and there are indeed, at least so far, different results.
Now, take a look at the anti-war bills the house and senate have tried to pass under Democrat Party leadership. All basically the same thing with the same result - going down to defeat and the single attempt that they could pass was defeated via a veto and they couldn't override that.
Same thing? Not even close.
Posted by GM Roper at July 18, 2007 12:41 PM
Yet another failed attempt by the Dems to seize defeat from the jaws of victory.
Posted by Sonnabend at July 18, 2007 02:32 PM
I am ever so glad that you posted on this asinine non-event.
You know that Churchill once said that " democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried'. The more I see of the ongoing farce that 'politics' has become, the more convinced I am that we just have not been trying hard enough on the 'alternative' front. This is just ghastly.
Supposedly a people get the government they deserve ---methinks someone has collected some very bad Karma somewhere down the line. Very very very bad Karma.
But that is not why I really appreciate this posting. It gives me a chance to now relay this little gem from the Washington Post. As much as I usually HATE the media, I salute the writer of this article without reservations. And it's Dana Milbank so imagine my surprise.
Talk about painting with words.
The most active figures in the Capitol were the antiwar demonstrators who, after hours outside at a rally, formed a pungent line to enter the public gallery.
Priceless.
Posted by dougf at July 18, 2007 05:44 PM
Yet another failed attempt by the Dems to seize defeat from the jaws of victory.
EXACTLY! :)
Posted by Angel at July 18, 2007 06:28 PM
It is just sad that the lives of kids in the military have become little more than political football. Rather than debate ideas, both sides just vote along party lines and claim moral victories. Kinky Friedman was right, the Democrats and Republicans are the same guy looking at himself in the mirror. We need an independent. The current two-party system no longer works.
Posted by bishopdic at July 18, 2007 08:06 PM
moose, exactly what would be wrong about continuing in Iraq? What do we lose by staying?
Posted by Assistant Village Idiot at July 18, 2007 10:13 PM
moose, exactly what would be wrong about continuing in Iraq? What do we lose by staying?
If we stay we just stoke the fire as our presence in Iraq is Al-Qaida's best recruiting tool and also we risk war engulfing the entire Middle East. I know many of you would love for us to open up a big ol' can of "Whoop-Ass" on Iran but, trust me, that's really not a great idea at the moment. Unless a draft and paying $120 a barrel for oil seems like a good idea to you. And dead people... a lot of dead people. If you like dead bodies then, yeah, war with Iran seems like a great idea.
Posted by e. nonee moose at July 19, 2007 03:14 PM
