Last Gasp of a Desperate Party?
According to this Washington Times article, Jim Manley characterized Republicans’ threat to shut the government down so that the drilling ban expires as a “last gasp of a party without ideas, hamstrung by a politically weakened president and fully understanding that they are going to lose a significant number of seats in November.”
I’ve never thought that it was particularly smart to shut the government down on because I think that’s giving the Democrats a distracting issue. It’s better to fight this fight another day. That said, I think that Jim Manley’s characterization is absurd. Manley’s mischaracterization is understandable when it’s taken in the context that he’s Harry Reid’s spokesman. Mr. Manley wants to create the illusion that Democrats are winning the gas crisis issue. The truth is that a supermajority of Americans agree with the Republicans’ policies.
I think that Democrats will gain seats in the Senate. I strongly disagree that they’ll win seats in the House, though. Speaker Pelosi is getting criticized from the left and the right. Here’s the transcript from her appearance on This Week With George Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: … You’ve been getting a lot of heat on…for not allowing a vote, a straight up-or-down vote on expanding drilling off the coasts of the United States. Why won’t you permit a straight up- or-down vote?
PELOSI: What these…what our colleagues are talking about is something that won’t have an effect for 10 years and it will be 2 cents at the time. If they want to present something as part of an energy package, we’re talking about something. But to single shoot on something that won’t work and mislead the American people as to thinking it’s going to reduce the price at the pump, I’m just not going to be a party of it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Except that it’s not just Republicans calling for this. Members of your own caucus say we must have a vote. Congressman Jason Altmire, let me show our viewers right now, is saying there’s going to be a vote. Here he says exactly, there’s going to be a vote. September 30th will not come and go without a vote on opening the outer continental shelf. The message has been delivered. The issue can’t be ignored any longer. He says he speaks for a lot of Democrats. He’s talked to the leadership, and a vote must happen.
PELOSI: Well, maybe it will, as it’s part of a larger energy package.
Instead we’re saying, free the oil. Use it, don’t lose it. There’s 68 million acres in lower 48 and 10 or 20 million more acres in Alaska, where they’re permitted, where they could drill anytime. This is a diversionary tactic from a failed energy policy.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But if you feel you have the better arguments, why not give a straight up-or-down vote for drilling?
PELOSI: Because the misrepresentation has been made that this is going to reduce the price at the pump. This is, again, a decoy, it’s not a solution.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, if you’re right, why not let it be debated out and have the vote?
PELOSI: We have a debate every single day on this subject. What you saw in the Congress this week was the war dance of the hand maidens of the oil companies. That’s what you saw on the Republican side of the aisle.
Democrats and Republicans are not right down party lines on this issue. There are regional concerns, as well as some people concerned about what this means back home for them.
But we have a planet to save. We have an economy to grow. And we can do that if we keep our balance in all of this and not just say but for drilling in unprotected and these protected areas offshore, we would have lower gas prices. …
STEPHANOPOULOS: But why not allow votes on all that? When you came in as speaker, you promised in your commitment book, A New Direction for America, let me show our viewers, you said that bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full, fair debate, consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right to offer its alternatives.
If they want to offer a drilling proposal, why can’t they have a vote?
PELOSI: They’ll have to use their imagination as to how they can get a vote, and they may get a vote. But I have tried, you know, we have serious policy issues in our country. The president of the United States has presented this but for this, our economy would be booming. But for this, gas would be cheaper at the pump.
It’s simply not true. And even the president himself in his statement yesterday and before then has said there is no quick fix for this by drilling.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you will not permit a vote. You may get beat, but you’re not going to permit a vote on your own?
PELOSI: Well, again, we take this one step at a time. But why we’re spending all this time on a parliamentary tactic when nothing less is at stake than the planet, the air we breathe, our children breathe? We have…
Putting it mildly, Stephanopoulos isn’t unsympathetic to liberal ideology. I watched the video of her trying to defend herself. It was painful watching. Ms. Pelosi was clearly agitated, perhaps even flabbergasted. Think the oppositve of poised.
The reason that’s important is because it’s an indication that Pelosi’s Democrats are feeling the heat from their constituents. Indications were that House Democrats thought this issue was playing right into their hands. I’m betting that they’re feeling the heat now that they’re actually having to face constituents frustrated by high gas prices. These constituents now see the tyrant side of Ms. Pelosi. They see her obstructionism.
The American people are attracted to the Republicans’ optimistic, positive agenda. They’re convinced that we can drill and lower prices. The longer Ms. Pelosi remains obstinent, the more Republicans benefit.
If Ms. Pelosi turns in more performances like last Sunday’s, Democrats will push her off center stage.
Technorati Tags: Gas Crisis, Nancy Pelosi, Interview, Drilling, Jim Manley, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 5th, 2008 at 1:51 am
What Pelosi will not dare say in public, and why am I not surprised Stephanopolous didnt call her in this, the off shore oil ban is on a year by year basis. It has to be voted on every year. But Pelosi can always bury it in one of those 10,000 page omnibus bus spending bills
So dream on that Democrats will push her off stage. No matter how absurd and perverted this will get, as long as they percieve they will gain seats, what ever she is doing, they like it, and the press will cover her six all she needs.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:00 am
I agree with your characterization that Manley’s characterization is absurd. I remember when Republicans were crowing over Newt’s line in the sand with Clinton. They were sure that the public liked confrontation but Clinton proved the public will likely punish the side that drew the line. Like it or not, The People favor negotiation and compromise and that means they favor floor votes over back room maneuvering.