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Thu. May 24, 2007

Dems Got Blues

We seem to be rapidly approaching the point where no one, Democrat or Republican, is happy with the actions of their elected “leaders.” Now that the Democrats control Congress, it is their supporters’ turn to sputter at the results, particularly over Iraq.

Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.

The idea that many Democrats would be left on the losing side in a consequential vote has exposed a sharp divide within the party, drawn scorn from antiwar groups, confused the public and frustrated the party rank and file.

New York Times: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush

I’d say “frustrated the party rank and file” is major understatement. It’s being called the Capitulation Bill, and Move On is threatening that Dems who vote for this may face a well-funded primary challenger next election.

There seems to be a chunk of the Democratic base that thought January would be the start of a process that would quickly lead to our withdrawal from Iraq, and the beginnings of impeachment proceedings. And this is pretty much the slap in the face that says “wake up, Sparky, those things aren’t going to happen.” Mad now, uh-huh.

That’s not all that isn’t going to happen: “After scrapping most key elements of an ethics package meant to deliver on Democratic promises to bring unprecedented accountability to Congress, party leaders were still working into the night yesterday to sell their stripped-down bill to the rank and file.” And having a hard time of it, too. All the promises of reigning in lobbyists and earmarks was just that … talk. There will be no action.

Of course, things aren’t exactly going any better for the President:

As President Bush took a question Thursday in the White House Rose Garden about scandals involving his Attorney General, he remarked, “I’ve got confidence in Al Gonzales doin’ the job.”

Simultaneously, a sparrow flew overhead and left a splash on the President’s sleeve, which Bush tried several times to wipe off.

You can’t make this stuff up. Mother Nature does have quite an ironic sense of timing, eh?

Keith Olbermann has ridden the President hard, but now he’s moved on to “a Pox On All of Them,” saying “The entire government has failed us on Iraq”: “For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal.”

It’s not just Iraq. It is the mindset that has taken over most political discourse and practice.

Not to get into the specifics of the immigration bill, but the sense is that it is a compromise meant to push forward something to address an important issue. And both “sides” hate it. Because it is not a clear “win” for either of them. It’s a compromise. And that’s somehow more distasteful than a full-out loss.

That’s the state of our politics today. For our “leaders,” it’s a zero sum game for some illusory and temporary claim to power, and has very little to do with what’s best for the country. It’s about what is best for the party.

And even there, nobody is happy.