The Democrat Party meltdown
Unhinged. Petulant. Finger-pointing. Back-stabbing. The Democrats are their own worst enemies. The Washington Post reports on the Big Blue crack-up this morning in an A1 story. Here’s your morning cup of schadenfreude:
When Democrats took control of Congress in January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged to jointly push an ambitious agenda to counter 12 years of Republican control.
Now, as Congress struggles to adjourn for Christmas, relations between House Democrats and their colleagues in the Senate have devolved into finger-pointing.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) accuses Senate Democratic leaders of developing “Stockholm syndrome,” showing sympathy to their Republican captors by caving in on legislation to provide middle-class tax cuts paid for with tax increases on the super-rich, tying war funding to troop withdrawal timelines, and mandating renewable energy quotas. If Republicans want to filibuster a bill, Rangel said, Reid should keep the bill on the Senate floor and force the Republicans to talk it to death.
Reid, in turn, has taken to the Senate floor to criticize what he called the speaker’s “iron hand” style of governance.
Dems aren’t having a merry Christmas season:
In the past few weeks, the House has thrown wave after wave of legislation at the Senate — on energy, Iraq war policy, the housing and mortgage crisis, and middle-income tax cuts offset largely by tax increases on the wealthy.
Most of it has died quietly, a predetermined fate that both sides could foresee before the first vote was cast. Yet they went ahead anyway. Just last night, the House, for a second time, passed legislation to stave off the growth of the alternative minimum tax, to be paid for by a measure to stop hedge fund managers from deferring compensation in offshore tax havens. Like the previous House version, it has virtually no chance of passing in the Senate.
Officially, House Democrats blame Senate Republicans, who have used parliamentary tactics to block even uncontroversial measures. But they are increasingly expressing public frustration with Reid and Senate Democrats for not putting up a better fight.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) called it a “hold and fold” strategy: Senate Republicans put a “hold” on Democratic bills, and Senate Democratic leaders promptly fold their tents.
We’ve come a long way, baby:
Jan. 4, 2007 Pelosi speech upon being elected speaker of the House:
“Thank you my colleagues, thank you leader (John) Boehner (R-Ohio).
“I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship, and I look forward to working with you Mr. Boehner and the Republicans in the Congress on behalf of the American people.
“After giving away this gavel in the last two Congress’, I’m glad someone else had the honor today.
“In this House, we may belong to different parties, but we serve one country. We stand united in our pride and prayers for our men and women in the armed forces. They are working together to protect America, and we, in this House, must also work together to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.
…”This is an historic moment — and I thank the leader for acknowledging it. I think you Leader Boehner. It is an historic moment for the Congress, and an historic moment for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights. But women weren’t just waiting; women were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them.
“The election of 2006 was a call to change — not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in the war in Iraq.
“The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end. Shortly, President Bush will address the nation on the subject of Iraq. It is the responsibility of the president to articulate a new plan for Iraq that makes it clear to the Iraqis that they must defend their own streets and their own security, a plan that promotes stability in the region, and a plan that allows us to responsibly redeploy our troops.
“Let us work together to be the Congress that rebuilds our military to meet the national security challenges of the 21st century.
“Let us be the Congress that strongly honors our responsibility to protect the American people from terrorism.
“Let us be the Congress that never forgets our commitment to our veterans and our first responders, always honoring them as the heroes that they are.
“The American people also spoke clearly for a new direction here at home — they desire a new vision, a new America, built on the values that have made our country great.
“Our founders envisioned a new America driven by optimism, opportunity, and strength. So confident were they in the America they were advancing, they put on the seal, the great seal of the United States, ‘novus ordo seclorum’ — a new order for the centuries. Centuries, they spoke of the centuries. They envisioned America as a just and good place, as a fair and efficient society, as a source of opportunity for all.
“This vision has sustained us for over 200 years, and it accounts for what is best in our great nation: liberty, opportunity, and justice.
“Now it is our responsibility to carry forth that vision of a new America into the 21st Century.
“A new America that seizes the future and forges 21st Century solutions through discovery, creativity, and innovation, sustaining our economic leadership and ensuring our national security.
“A new America with a vibrant and strengthened middle class for whom college is affordable, health care is accessible, and retirement reliable.
“A new America that declares our energy independence, promotes domestic sources of renewable energy, and combats climate change.
“A new America that is strong, secure, and a respected leader among the community of nations.
“And the American people told us they expected us to work together for fiscal responsibility, with the highest ethical standards and with civility and bipartisanship.
“After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay as you go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt.
“In order to achieve our new America for the 21st Century, we must return this House to the American people. So our first order of business is passing the toughest congressional ethics reform in history. This new Congress doesn’t have two years or 200 days.
“Let us join together in the first 100 hours to make this Congress the most honest and open Congress in history – 100 hours.
“This openness requires respect for every voice in the Congress. As Thomas Jefferson said, ‘Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.’ My colleagues elected me to be Speaker of the House — the entire House. Respectful of the vision of our Founders, the expectations of our people, and the great challenges that we face, we have an obligation to reach beyond partisanship to work for all Americans.
“Let us all stand together to move our country forward, seeking common ground for the common good.
“We have made history, now let us make progress for our the America people.
“May God bless our work, and may God bless America.”
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Schadenfreude indeed. And with the TV writers on strike, the dems are the best comedy in town.
Shortly after that speech she was seen tossing it out the window of her limo and laughing like a hysterical mad woman.
I couldn’t bear to read through her tripe, but I got the gist of it: We’re running the show now; the difference is that it’s official. Everything I personally hate about what’s been enacted since 1-20-01 wouldn’t have happened but for RINOs and even real conservatives ‘reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship’. The good news here is that the Republicans seem to have realized (perhaps) that in doing so they were taken advantage. Putting it nicely. Hopefully it isn’t too late for the GOP to (as Mark Levin says) grow a set…and hopefully remember where it came from. Paint me cautiously ambivalent…I’m not a Republican. I’m too conservative to be a Republican.
Amazing. Before the 2006 election the Democrats were so proud of their strategy, blocking everything Bush, spreading hate throughout the land. Did the Democrats actually expect that if they won, everyone would just acquiesce to there demands for socialism and go away?
Why yes they did, in the past the media would scream gridlock, Republicans would cower under their desks and the band would play on.
But now, the Democrat’s media parrot is near death and the cries for help, the wall of ofuscation and ommission, is going unanswered, or can’t be answered — But the cries are being met with fierce opposition, mostly from bloggers.
What’s that “Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander”. Next time, maybe Democrats will realize that their slash and burn strategy isn’t going to get them anywhere. But you have to admit, they were proud, standing tall, crowing to the fruit loops, blocking everything was seen as courageous agsint the evil Bush.
You have to wonder if they have figured this out when it comes to judges?
Breaking the marble ceiling must have given some Dems a big headache.
they can’t pass legislation because they have no principles. you fight for principles…something they can not do.
i think it was a Godsend the dems won 2006. now we see how horrible at governance they are, and how worse this country could be.
I know you’re lying, Nancy. Your lips are moving.
How does one spell “loser”?
P-e-l-o-s-i…no…that ain’t it.
Oh. Wait. I got it.
R-e-i-d…no…
Never mind.
I have to admit it is a pleasure to watch the weak Democrats do nothing. I am also happy they are doing nothing, it cost’s me less.
She should have immediately been impeached at that line. She is obviously trying to turn America into a theocracy.
Seperation of church and state! She said the word God in a public place, and should be brought up on charges, and impeached.
Wait…that’s only if a Republican says those things.
I am sorry, that was a great speach. It was written well and it made my heart soar as an American. As a Conservative it makes me … well…
BWAAAAAAAHHAAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAA
*passes out from lack of O2
Thanks Michelle I was in a grumpy mood this morning. This little bit of news has done much to improve my attitude and brighten my day.
That line from her speech still has me giggling.
The democrats are incredibly divisive and mean-spirited. Aside from the right-wing extremist label they affixed to the GOP, with the help of the LAME STREAM MEDIA, they are also responsible for calling the GOP: Nazis; saying they like to starve children, throw elderly into the streets, deny people health care. Liberals have no humility or courage. They back-bite and whine like children, often using this tactic to incite the child-like liberal followers. I don’t believe they’ve melted down because Rangle has always been a bit addled. Actually, I think they’re entering their pupal stage where after they’ll emerge into their new form: Near-human.
Are they taking lessons from the Santa Rosa city council? Voting for resolutions and bills that don’t mean anything and don’t amount to a hill of beans.
They should all be suspended without pay until they do something productive. And I hear weather forcast for Hades is still hot for the foreseeable future, so there’s no chance of it freezing.
I know it’s just a daydream, but one must have dreams.
To crudely spin off William Tecumseh Sherman’s contempt for the Lame Stream Media of his own day during the American Civil War, I’ll coin the following phrase:
If the Dhimmicrats and Nancy Pelosi found themselves in hell one night, there’d be legislation written by breakfast.
Time to put nasty nancy and dirty Harry into a ‘cage match’ – Ted Kennedy will drive the winner home.
Such a circus act, too bad folks are dying becauwse they can’t do their job.
I think this just shows that hate is not a good foundation for what a party stands for. Dems are reaping the bile that they have sown. Bummer.
I doubt that it will occur to Democrats that coming up with new and better bills will help the country, which should be their goal, instead of trying to appease the radical nimrods on the left. Good governing is hard, time consuming and needs to involve the opposition; it will not come from blaming America first and putting politics over the welfare of the country.
Lest we forget: We are doing it for the children.
well we all knew that was BS..we knew they would march along the lines of partisanship. they want power more than they want to serve the American people. period.
I’m as happy as the next Reagan Conservative Republican to see the Dem’s implode.
But, it seems the Republicans of today don’t know how to seize on an opportunity that’s handed to them.
One thing I’ve got to credit the Dem’s for: they know how to act like winners. They know how to tell the losers to “sit down and shut up, we’re in charge now!”
I couldn’t bring myself to read her speech. I have had my full of her lies.
The meltdown could not happen to a more deserving group of people.
Fixed as by my reckoning, they will never truly understand what it means to be fully human. One must have compassion and a capacity for cognitive thought to be human.
True. Moreover, given the general mediocrity of our current crop of candidates, and that some of their behavior/positions are not really much different than that of the dems. . .well I’m not sure I WANT them to seize any opportunities.
I’m so frustrated with the 2 party system right now.
I dunno Tre… Fred seemed to be hitting his stride the other day at the debate…
He keeps that up, we’ll have a “I paid for this microphone” moment, and it will be well and truly on.
The Dems are demonstrating their incompetence day by day. I mean, if you have the majority in the House and Senate, surely you’d be able to implement some of your vision of how the country should be. Problem is, such action takes courage and conviction (C&C) like someone else here has already mentioned. C & C is what the Dems lack as they are merely barometers of public opinion.
Nevertheless, despite how poor the Dems are performing, I gotta ask whether the Republicans would do any better. I mean look at the presidential candidates Giulani et al. They’re basically Democrats with (R) after their name. The Dems are messing it up big time in Capitol Hill, but I do not think that the Republicans would do much better unless something drastic happens to give their senators and representatives some cast iron cojones.
It is wonderful to see them squirm and whine like little babies who don’t get their way.
As others have said, it’s up to the Republicans to go on OFFENSE about this. Hey folks, check out the approval ratings for Congress. They can point their crooked fingers at the Republicans and try to place the blame on them but as usual, they are dead wrong. Given the total trashing Bush has had to endure, his ratings are considerably higher than Congress. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where the blames lies for the low ratings. Hello….are you listening RNC????
I saw Steny Hoyer being interviewed on one of the morning business shows, and he said that the gridlock in Congress, specifically the Senate, is due to the fact that the Republicans in the Senate have gone far right, and won’t listen to reason.
Smokin’ some of the good stuff, eh Steny?
The mediocrity of both parties is depressing. I have a feeling that if they could, voters in both sets of primaries would pick “none of the above.”
The only thing missing from the Dem’s performance these days is the Stalinist-Maoist self criticism sessions where the party aparatchiki admit their ideological transgressions…….Uh, wait…wasn’t that the annual KOS convention?
I agree with Nbarry – while its always a pleasure to see the Dems turn into a bunch of whining third graders, we really haven’t done much with our own party.
Sorry AJ. Faux News Alert:
When asked what she plans to do about the inability of the Democrat controlled congress to pass significant legislation Speaker Pelosi said “its all the fault of the bigoted racist homophobic Republicans.”……………
Uh, maybe this isn’t so faux after all.
Bela Pelosi and Dingy Harry are the face of the Congress with the 11 percent approval rating.
Everything we see happening here was predictable.
Of course the donkeys assumed that once they got their hands on power, everything would just work out wonderfully. Much more than Republicans, donkeys are prone to see their possession of authority as an a priori good in and of itself. Remember how smugly and arrogantly they did their little “Macarena” dance during their nominating convention in 1992, in the intervals when the tune “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow” wasn’t blaring over the PA system? That combination was the perfect encapsulation of their attitude toward what it means to gain, hold and exercise authority: unthinking, undisciplined, self-absorbed and absolutely convinced of their own sense of entitlement.
None of that changed in November of 2006.
With limited exceptions (e.g., the Vietnam War, pre-Civil Rights Act white racism, back-alley abortions and “McCarthyism”) for donkeys “history” begins when they wake up in the morning. Similarly, having absolutely no sense of shame, donkeys are quite comfortable living by two sets of rules: one for themselves, notable for its situational ethics, amorality and do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do basis of authority, and a much more stringent one for everyone else, which can be summed up as, “When you understand what I want, then we’ll have a ‘mutual understanding.’” [Hey guys, wanna spice up things with your wives/girlfriends? Try that line on them. Trust me, you'll see that ol' fire in her eyes...]
Roll the two themes above together, and much of the petulance, infantilism and rage that donkeys display when they don’t get what they want is readily understandable; for the idea of reaping the whirlwind is utterly alien to them. Hence the sense of bewilderment and the disgusting cries of, “Mommy! He hit me back!” when Republicans reciprocate donkey tactics like the filibuster and the de facto requirement of a 60-vote majority to get anything done in the senate.
“Hey, we won, the Republicans were supposed to just roll over and play dead! Whose fault it this?!?”
Delightful.
Now that is something I can visualize. Probably the most accurate description of an action taken by the ‘speaker’ to date.
.,
That’s some kind of leadership we got, huh. I wouldn’t trust Pelosi and her ‘followers’ to run the local paper boys route.
As for the document of her
speechLIES? (this is way beyond broken promises)We’ve got plenty of wonderful speeches thru the centuries…this is not one of them.
Shall we call it…
The “Magnum Part-er”..
the “Declaration of Incompetence”
the “Thrill of Fights”
.
Join me , will ya?
We need to fix the AMT, NOW!!!
“Cure For Insomnia”
So, as I watched that video, one question came up:
What was keeping them from acting in a bi-partisan fashion when the Republicans were in power?
It seems to me that is makes far mire sense for her to make that statement when they were not in power. In order for her to guarantee that the Dems are going to work in a bi-partisan fashion, they are going to either have to create legislation that is not Liberal in nature and goes more towards what a Republican would make, or will have to sign on to what the Republicans are writing. It will not work if they are going to write their usual Tax and Spend Liberal tripe and then bully and threaten and have a tantrum and force the Republicans into signing and then whine and cry that it is the Republicans that are not playing nice. That is not being bi-partisan, which is, of course, what they ended up doing. That, also of course, ended up breaking her promise, one that was destined for being broken the minute it left her mouth.
Then again, if it is stated by a Liberal, it is a lie to begin with.
Mitch McConnell is the real hero here. He is running rings around this stooge/wimp Reid. I cringe every time I see Reid on TV, he is a national joke.
Loons looking to line their own pockets. Too bad the GOP is either as corrupt or too stupid to call the Dems on it.
The spat between Reid and Pelosi has been one of the best things to happen to our country during Bush’s presidency, I think. They’ve shown just how effective liberal leadership really is: not the slightest bit.