August 31, 2006
People's Republic of the House of RepresentativesRepublicans have been downright disappointing: spending money like Democrats, vacillating on key counter-terror programs, engaging in simplistic nativism on trade and immigration, blocking earmark reform and legislative transparency. There's a lot about which conservatives can rightly be disappointed. But as bad as the Congressional GOP has been, imagine the House in Democratic hands.
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi would be a new Speaker of the House, 13 of the 19 [would-be Democratic primary committee chairmen] voted against the welfare reform that Mr. Clinton signed in 1996 and hailed this month as a triumph of "bipartisanship."...The Republicans have been lousy on policy and, sometimes, downright embarrassing. But that is a fight to wage in the primaries. When it comes to the general election, it is imperative to prevent the reins of power from being handed over to this extreme Left crowd.Consider the man likely to run the Judiciary Committee, Michigan's John Conyers [who has an] explicit intention to investigate grounds for impeaching President Bush.
If you think Republicans have been spendthrift, don't expect much change from Wisconsin's David Obey (class of 1969) at Appropriations. Mr. Obey was one of those Democrats who ripped Mr. Clinton for endorsing a balanced budget in 1995. Rather than cut spending, his goal would be to spend less on defense and more on domestic programs and entitlements.
Ways and Means, the chief economic policy panel, would go to New York's Charlie Rangel (1970), who opposed the Bush tax cuts and recently voted against free trade with tiny Oman. His committee's crucial health care subcommittee would be run by California's Pete Stark (1972), who in 1993 criticized Hillary Clinton's health care proposal because the government wasn't dominant enough. Over at Financial Services, the ascension of Barney Frank (1980) would mean a reprieve for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite $16 billion in accounting scandals. His main reform priority has been to carve out a new affordable housing fund from the two companies' profits. And forget about any major review of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Energy and Commerce would return to the untender mercies of John Dingell, the longest-serving Member first elected in 1955, who was a selective scourge of business when he ran the committee before 1994. The Michigan Congressman would do his best to provide taxpayer help to GM and Ford. But telecom companies would probably get more regulation in the form of Net neutrality rules, and a windfall profits tax on oil would be a real possibility...
We also can't forget California's Henry Waxman (1974), among the most partisan liberals and who at Government Reform would compete with Mr. Conyers to see who could issue the most subpoenas to the Bush Administration. And then there's Alcee Hastings, who, should Ms. Pelosi succeed in pushing aside current ranking Member Jane Harman, would take over the House Intelligence Committee. Before he won his Florida seat in 1992, Mr. Hastings had been a federal judge who was impeached and convicted by a Democratic Congress for lying to beat a bribery rap. He would handle America's most vital national secrets.
Posted by Jonathan R. on August 31, 2006 10:28 AM
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Comments
Hey! I'm not a far left wacko. I consider myself a moderate, own several businesses, 2 kids, married, selling construction equipment, fiscally conservative with a social conscience. But I definately won't be voting Republican this time around. Why should I? - Completely botched foreign policy. The rest of the world hates us, how you going to win the war on terror without their help? We are in far more danger today than we were 5 years ago. For one, the fundamentalists and anti-Americans think their winning, and why not? they sure seem to be winning elections, (hamas, hezbollah, eqypt,venezuela, Peru, bolivia). - Loss in Lebenon, losing in Iraq, losing the hearts and minds of moderate arabs. We're never going to win this battle with a bomb, more likely with diplomacy isolating the dangerous fundamentalists from the only people who can help us defeat them, the moderate arab rank and file. We can't just kill 1 billion arabs, we can't bend them to our will, Israel has been trying for 60 years and they've gotten nowhere. -Iran's nuclear program. NEWSFLASH, the genie is out of the bottle. In ten more years contries like Sudan will have access to nuclear technology. Time to figure out a different strategy than economic isolation, it never works. If anything we're helping to push the middle east toward trade with Russia and China. Bush and Rice are way over their heads. Finally, what about basic Republican issues like spending, down sizing government, deficit dicipline. I'm sorry, there's nothing to vote for with this administration and the Republican congress. I'm voting for Democrats so we might at least have some balance and a little much needed oversight. If you lose, you Republicans have no one to blame but yourselves.
Posted by: steve nobody at August 31, 2006 10:26 PM
Hey stevie nobody, you are not a Republican so why would anyone expect you to vote that way.
The war came to US. It came to us because a Democrat president was too busy getting bjs from interns rather than protecting us from terrorists. He refused to take out OBL because he thought it would be POLITICALLY troublesome. Dems will get more AMERICAN CIVILIANS killed.
You don't like it; tough sh!t. Go troll somewhere else.
Posted by: kchand at September 1, 2006 03:18 AM
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