Dem Feuding Dems
This Washington Post article is a a delicious thing to read. It seems that the House and Senate Democrats want to have a food fight with each other. In my opinion, nothing could be more delicious. Here’s some examples of the bitter feelings:
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.
This is unprecedented. I’ve never witnessed such a widespread public food fight within a political party. These aren’t backbenchers criticizing each other, either. They’re part of the Democrats’ leadership.
Asked about his decision on government funding, House Appropriations Committee
Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) groused to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call: “I’ll tell you how soon I will make a decision when I know how soon the Senate sells us out.” Senate Democrats have fired back, accusing Pelosi and her liberal allies of sending over legislation that they know cannot pass in the Senate, and of making demands that will not gain any GOP votes. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) noted that, this summer, Reid employed just the kind of theatrics Rangel and other House Democrats are demanding, holding the Senate open all night, pulling out cots and forcing a dusk-till-dawn debate on an Iraq war withdrawal measure before a vote on war funding. Democrats gained not a single vote after the all-night antics.
Rush is calling it a meltdown. I couldn’t agree more. These guys are self-destructing in public. The Democratic firing squad is in place (In a circle) and they’re unloading the full clips from their AK-47’s.
The disputes have at times taken on starkly personal tones. In closed-door bicameral leadership meetings, Pelosi has questioned Reid’s intentions on issues such as war funding tied to troop withdrawal timelines and an alternative minimum tax fix that is fully funded by tax increase offsets, suggesting that his words have not always matched his actions.
Reid has let his own frustration show. After Republican senators accused Pelosi of lying about her intentions on a comprehensive energy bill, the majority leader offered a backhanded defense.
“I can’t control Speaker Pelosi,” he said on the chamber floor. “I hope everybody understands that. She is a strong, independent woman. She runs the House with an iron hand. I support what she does, but no one needs to come and tell me I didn’t keep my word.”
This is disastrous for Democrats. First, they’ve got the most incompetent Speaker and Senate Majority Leader in history. Next, it appears as though this duncely duo don’t like each other much. Don’t bet that voters won’t notice the Democrats’ miniscule list of accomplishments, either. They’re a total disaster substantively and temperamentally.
A few months back, pundits were saying that Democrats would gain a minimum of 2-3 seats in the Senate, with an outside shot at 6-7. I can’t see republicans regaining control of the Senate but I’ve totally eliminated the possibility of the Democrats picking up 6-7 Senate seats. To win that many seats, you need a long list of accomplishments, something they certainly won’t have.
With Hillary’s campaign imploding and with the Democrats’ intraparty infighting and with their tiny list of accomplishments, this isn’t shaping into a banner year for Democrats. Of course, 11 months is a lifetime in politics but I just don’t see them getting their things together before then.
That’s why it’s imperative that GOP activists should get involved in their local campaigns ASAP. There’s a very strong possibility that we can retake the US House and retain the White House. If that doesn’t motivate you, then you likely don’t have a pulse.
Technorati Tags: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Charlie Rangel, David Obey, Evan Bayh, Congress, Election 2008, White House
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog