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Most of us have heard the expressions used to describe Democrats:
Blue Dog Democrats.
Yellow Dog Democrats.
Well, if the axiom ever needed a better time to fit the Party of Jackson (Andrew, not Jesse, although both are true), it would be the dog expression. If ever there was a need for a party to get some restraint and focus, it would be them right now.
It looks like these Blue Dogs and Yellow Dogs need to be put on a leash if they're ever going to get out of their own way as a supermajority. Every time they get a clear advantage, there is a clear overreach from their camp following.
By pushing for a resolution to admonish Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) for a mistake that he has already apologized for is a bad, bad move. Not only does it give the nation yet another opportunity to focus on the partisanship of the health care debate and not the solutions needed to address the issue, but it also provides the Republicans an opportunity to show the divide and failure to lead coming from the Democratic Party.
In essence, the Democrats already have their congressional poster boy from the town hall rallies. Let me shine without doing much yet. The clip speaks volumes from their perspective. Their commentary to it cheapens its effectiveness.
Further, making a military veteran and current congressman apologize two and three times for this flaw is dangerous as it gives Wilson more opportunities to solidify his point. Just as his opponent has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since Wednesday, Wilson has been able to match or better his Democratic foe in fundraising since his national anonymity washed away. He became a rallying point at the Tea Party on September 12th. His face is now all over Facebook and other social networking sites in a sign of support.
And you want to stick a microphone in his face and make him "apologize" - again?
Bad move. All that could happen is that the congressman, with press near the equivilent to a presidential speech, will not only briefly say that his action was inappropriate at the time, but he will take the next 5-10 minutes to explain why the Democrats' plans for health care are so off base. He would probably take a moment or two to explain how the Democrats are refusing to take Republican ideas into consideration (although the president seemed to be coming around starting Wednesday.) He will hammer home the Democratic threat of Reconciliation to push through their version of a bill; (something like the equivilent of using a "ghost man on second and third base" from back in the days of grade school kick ball games in order to skirt the rules to get the votes.) And he will talk about how all of the spending from Washington hasn't brought back jobs or turned around "Main Street", even as "Wall Street" seems to be recovering. He'll end the speech with,
And the issue will not be about disrespecting the Office of the Presidency. It will not be about calling President Obama a liar. It will be about Joe Wilson taking a stand.
And the dog days of the Summer of 2009 for the Democrats repeating itself on Capitol Hill.
Blue Dog Democrats.
Yellow Dog Democrats.
Well, if the axiom ever needed a better time to fit the Party of Jackson (Andrew, not Jesse, although both are true), it would be the dog expression. If ever there was a need for a party to get some restraint and focus, it would be them right now.
It looks like these Blue Dogs and Yellow Dogs need to be put on a leash if they're ever going to get out of their own way as a supermajority. Every time they get a clear advantage, there is a clear overreach from their camp following.
By pushing for a resolution to admonish Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) for a mistake that he has already apologized for is a bad, bad move. Not only does it give the nation yet another opportunity to focus on the partisanship of the health care debate and not the solutions needed to address the issue, but it also provides the Republicans an opportunity to show the divide and failure to lead coming from the Democratic Party.
In essence, the Democrats already have their congressional poster boy from the town hall rallies. Let me shine without doing much yet. The clip speaks volumes from their perspective. Their commentary to it cheapens its effectiveness.
Further, making a military veteran and current congressman apologize two and three times for this flaw is dangerous as it gives Wilson more opportunities to solidify his point. Just as his opponent has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since Wednesday, Wilson has been able to match or better his Democratic foe in fundraising since his national anonymity washed away. He became a rallying point at the Tea Party on September 12th. His face is now all over Facebook and other social networking sites in a sign of support.
And you want to stick a microphone in his face and make him "apologize" - again?
Bad move. All that could happen is that the congressman, with press near the equivilent to a presidential speech, will not only briefly say that his action was inappropriate at the time, but he will take the next 5-10 minutes to explain why the Democrats' plans for health care are so off base. He would probably take a moment or two to explain how the Democrats are refusing to take Republican ideas into consideration (although the president seemed to be coming around starting Wednesday.) He will hammer home the Democratic threat of Reconciliation to push through their version of a bill; (something like the equivilent of using a "ghost man on second and third base" from back in the days of grade school kick ball games in order to skirt the rules to get the votes.) And he will talk about how all of the spending from Washington hasn't brought back jobs or turned around "Main Street", even as "Wall Street" seems to be recovering. He'll end the speech with,
"...and now the President and the Democrats want to spend yet another $900 billion??? Not on my watch. I may have been wrong to call President Obama a liar, but I know that you're all lying to yourselves if you think that the American people want to keep spending trillions of dollars at this historically dangerous rate!"
And the issue will not be about disrespecting the Office of the Presidency. It will not be about calling President Obama a liar. It will be about Joe Wilson taking a stand.
And the dog days of the Summer of 2009 for the Democrats repeating itself on Capitol Hill.
Good point Lenny. It's going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out.
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