"On virtually all of the major slips this White House has made in the past year, there have been unnoticed Democrats putting down the banana peels. One of the best examples—and certainly the issue that sent Bush's poll numbers southward—was the Dubai port deal. The little-noticed administration decision to contract with a United Arab Emirate-owned company to run terminals at six ports around the United States mushroomed into a public relations disaster for which the Bush administration was uncharacteristically unprepared. Within a week of the story breaking, congressional Republicans had vowed to pass legislation undoing the deal, Bush angrily declared he would veto such legislation, and polls showed that three-quarters of Americans were concerned the deal would jeopardize American security. Even more damaging, the issue shifted public opinion about who can best protect the country from future acts of terrorism. For the first time since 9/11, Democrats pulled even with Republicans on this question."
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Keep The Faith
I let out some frustration a couple of weeks back on the lack of leadership in the Democratic party. And I still feel that a more cohesive message and vision is needed. But, according to this Washington Monthly piece by Amy Sullivan, the Dems have been more successful than we might think:
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6 comments:
I am happy to hear the dems are finally playing politics and scoring some damn points. maybe this november they can take back a branch of gov't from the "gravity is just another unproven theory" people. Leadership from the dems? oh, i'm afraid we'll be seeing Black Jesus before we see that one......well placed peels have always been part of the game, but lately it just seems like peels have been the whole banana
the basic problem with dems and security is that i think the country is united against the war, as we now know it, but don't really trust Howard Deaniacs or Michael Moorers to be the brain trust for protecting us from the bad guys. peels dont help you there. dubai ports helps out for a while, but will be forgotten before the memorial day cookout. its not enough for november.
I think you might be right, but I do hope you are wrong. I hope November is a wake up call for this country and the Dems get Congress back. When the Supreme Court handed Bush the presidency, I knew we were in trouble...but not this bad. this is really bad.
It's the damn Isreal Lobby I tell you. :-) You know it's funny, Howard Dean and Michael Moore are mentioned to discredit Dems, yet I wonder who's prognostications about the war in Iraq have been more accurate - theirs or Bush's? Since Terror is the only thing Repubs have, should we start a pool for the odds on:
a) Aerial bombing campaign against Iran in September;
b) Homeland security alert going up to red this summer;
c) Rehashing of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal (Proof that Hillary is Satan's whore also acceptable).
I think we could hit the trifecta
Dude, option B is a lock! two dimes and a nickel on that bet for me.
Dont leave out the further tightening of civil liberties, and the announcements that these measures have led to the foiling of many unnamed terror incidents. Followed by pronouncements that "They hate us for our freedoms!"
Rest assured that having some desk-bound spook from the CIA peek into your library card records, lowering Warren Buffet's taxes and allowing private companies to sell your personal information has saved many a day! You're either with us or against us!
The war's what kept Bush in office and I'm not sure a "peace" candidate, no matter how right they are, can win it back. I agree the Dems don't have a coherent message. There are no easy outs when it comes to Iraq. I agreed with the article from the other day about how the Dems have no answers to something that was an ill-conceived, bone-headed mistake in the first place.
I don't believe in the Michael Moorers either. Once he lost to Holyfield in the rematch, I vowed never to expect him to lead the Democratic party.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moorer
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