Dems Dilemma: Explain or Complain

[red states rule]

Now that the Dem run Congress is out of DC (thank God) on a month long vacation - what the hell have they accomplished?


Democratic dilemma: Explain or complain
Donna Brazile
August 6, 2007
It's that time again. Members of Congress were trying last week to wrap matters up before their monthlong recess. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the other leaders of the 110th Congress had an unusually complex set of questions to answer as they face the usual end-of-summer dilemma: explain or complain?

Do they explain their accomplishments, building a public perception of successful leadership with the promise of more to come? Or do they complain about the minority party's many obstructions, predicating the pre-election argument that a bigger majority could accomplish far more?

It's rarely an easy question to resolve. This year the equation is infinitely more complex. The nation is still mired in a deeply unpopular and probably unwinnable war, a condition the Democrats have not managed to end. And despite significant legislative accomplishments, congressional approval ratings are at record lows.

Democrats need to both complain and explain when they hit their town meetings. They have plenty of substantial accomplishments to talk about. They can also rightly point out that Republicans, particularly in the Senate, have purposefully gummed up the works only to lay claim to the Election Day argument that the do-nothing Democrats haven't governed.

But Democrats also have a powerful argument. Mrs. Pelosi, who took the gavel with more public doubts about her abilities than any House leader in recent memory, has done an exceptional job under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. They shouldn't shy away from the theme that Mrs. Pelosi, the first woman in the job and a "San Francisco liberal" in a party with an unresolved ideological identity crisis, has proven that a woman's place is, indeed, in the House — and that she and the Democrats are running it well.

Mrs. Pelosi's leadership style has been a unique mix of soft and hard tactics. When appropriate, she leads through consensus, letting the committee chairs work out the details of complex bills and intervening only to resolve seemingly intractable disputes. But she also has proven her toughness on numberless occasions: passing over Democratic Reps. Jane Harman of California and Alcee Hastings of Florida, in favor of her own choice for chair of the Intelligence Committee; circumventing powerful John Dingell of Michigan on energy legislation while reassuring a recent interviewer that she "loves him dearly"; and forging near-unanimity on tough bills despite serious intraparty qualms.

The result has been a series of legislative victories that may yet boost Democrats' approval ratings to respectable levels. Mrs. Pelosi led her caucus to "drain the swamp," overcoming serious opposition within her own party to pass landmark ethics and lobbying reform legislation and delivering a central campaign pledge. She helped raise the minimum wage and eliminate the global gag rule, offering important victories to core Democratic constituencies. And Democrats struggled to pass legislation extending health care coverage to millions more children — a no-brainer President Bush has promised to veto. Yes, the leader whose toughness many questioned has maneuvered an unpopular president into denying health care to children in order to keep tobacco taxes low. That's hardball, played in an aubergine Armani suit.

To be sure, there's a reason public approval of Democrats is low despite their obvious successes. Democrats campaigned on the implicit promise to end the war and bring the troops home. Until there's an end in sight, there will be a plague on both houses, Democratic and Republican. But Democrats should complain loudly that they've tried to do the right thing, only to be blocked by the president and his party. This is President Bush's war, and that of the party that enables him and has opposed every effort to set a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq.

for the complete article

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070806/COMMENTARY/108060020/1012

[red states rule]

This was a letter in one of the local papers


Why the Democrats are losers


What a pathetic group of losers those Democrat leaders are. Complain, complain, complain is all we ever hear from them, but we see very little action.

Although part of America may have spoken in the last election by giving them a slight advantage in Congress, what exactly have they done with that advantage? At the end of the day, those very same leaders who claim they stand for a new direction have done absolutely nothing except complain!

When they were the minority in Congress, all they did was complain about the policies of the Bush administration and now that they are the majority the complaining continues. When are they going to stop complaining, step up to the plate and actually do something?

My guess is they will never step up to the plate and do anything because they have no real agenda or strategy for this country other than political gain.

If it's not Nancy Pelosi calling President Bush complaining about Vice President Cheney's comments on the Democrats' strategy in Iraq, it's Hillary Clinton crying wolf about Barack Obama being nave for suggesting he'd meet unconditionally with leaders of other countries such as Syria, Iran and North Korea.

What a waste of air and lung capacity to always be complaining about things they have very little control over.

I mean think about it, why complain about comments Cheney makes regarding Democrats' strategy (or lack there of), in Iraq? What exactly did she want Bush to do, tell Cheney to apologize or take back his comments? Good luck on that one.

I've been a Dick Cheney critic for a long time now, dating back to when I served in the U.S. Army and President H.W. Bush shot down the same Iraq policy currently being used today - which was originally established by then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. But the one thing I must say is that I agree completely with Cheney on the fact that Democrats have no logical strategy in Iraq other than saying what most Americans want to hear. We plan on bringing the troops home.

What a crock of hogwash. Barack Obama, who previously claimed to have a plan that would significantly reduce the number of troops in Iraq in a short period of time, has produced no viable plan once he considered the unpredictable day-to-day events unfolding on the ground.

Of all the democratic "purported" leaders, Hillary has flip-flopped the most on Iraq. From stalwart hawk, to get out fast, to fast withdrawal would be a mistake, to who knows what tomorrow, Hillary has offered no legitimate and consistent opinion on Iraq indicative of her lack of credibility and readiness for the office of President.

Still, many Democrats and women's groups around the country support Clinton for president simply because she's a woman.

After reading a recent column by Charley Reese pertaining to what he assesses is the Republican War, the one thing he failed to mention was the success the Bush administration has had preventing another terrorist attack. In fact, all Democrats stay as far away from that topic as possible.

Why? Well here's my 2-cent opinion.

President Clinton had eight years to assess the situation in the Middle East, particularly the growing threat of al Qaeda. During this time, he never once came up with the idea to create a new department such as Homeland Security.

The internal problems in the government existed throughout his entire presidency yet he somehow missed this critical missing link. However, Bush figured this out during his first term as president and accordingly fixed the problem.

As a result, there has not been another attack such as Sept. 11, 2001, and the Democrats simply can't give credit where credit is due.

Instead of being proactive and addressing other areas of concern with regard to security, Democratic leaders choose to throw stones at Republicans and exploit the emotions and hysteria of the American public, something they accused the Bush administration of in previous years.

To me, this is completely unacceptable and is the reason why I feel every Democrat running for president is a pathetic loser with no more of a realistic strategy for this country than the man in the moon who manages the real estate I have for sale to Democrats - at one unbelievable price!

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=171488&format=html

[KarlMarx]

http://www.wpclipart.com/small_icons/pointers/pointing_finger.png

For a detailed explanation of Democrat accomplishments and policies, please pull the finger above (and hold your breath)

[red states rule]

http://www.wpclipart.com/small_icons/pointers/pointing_finger.png

For a detailed explanation of Democrat accomplishments and policies, please pull the finger above (and hold your breath)

Short, sweet, and to the point

[red states rule]

With their poll numbers tanking, what else can Dems do except pass the buck?