The Discerning Texan
-- Edmund Burke
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Running out of Scapegoats
The public needs to insist on payment in full.The Democrats have been outmanuevered again on Iraq. Earlier this year, they took 108 days to come up with a funding formula that wouldn't get vetoed by the Bush administration, thinking that they could dictate terms to the White House. They found out, as the Republicans did in 1995, that Presidents are never irrelevant. He played "chicken" better than the Democrats, who swerved rather than allowing funds to run out on the troops, and gave Bush what he wanted in May.
It looks like September will bring more swerving. Even leading Democrats acknowledge that Petraeus has produced some stunning successes in Anbar and Diyala. Most people considered Anbar a lost cause, but Petraeus and his forces have freed the province of its terrorist oppressors and created a political movement of Iraqi unity called Anbar Awakening, which continues to spread. Barack Obama suggested yesterday that Baghdad could use another 30,000 troops.
Now that their predictions of military failure have have died, the Democrats want to focus on the lack of political reform as a reason to leave. In January, they talked about how futile it was to play "whack-a-mole" when terrorists would simply move back and forth, and that the American and Iraqi forces could not clear and hold territory. Since that's been proven wrong, they now claim that the current Iraqi government cannot possibly institute the reforms Congress demands, such as oil revenue sharing and the forgiveness of former Ba'athists. Unless Iraq succeeds in these reforms as a sign of unity, we should withdraw, the argument will go.
[...]
Even those who still insist on firm timetables question the Democratic leadership's strategy. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) says that the inflexible and confrontational approach taken by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid has made it impossible to work with Republicans in Congress and the White House. Rather than asking the generals what they need, Congress has tried to dictate limits -- and lost. "I don't know what they're thinking," McNerney said to the Post about the leadership.
That's not true at all. Everyone knows what they're thinking. If they get outmanuevered again, the Democrats will catch hell from the activist base of their party and likely wind up losing the House to the Republicans in 2008. They can't afford to work cooperatively with the people Pelosi and Reid have successfully demonized with their voters, or they will look like complete hypocrites. That's the wages of demagoguery, and payday's coming in September.
Labels: Defeatocrats, Democrat Sabotage, Harry Reid, Hypocrisy, Nancy Pelosi
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Yeah, that's it. (or... maybe she just listens to too many old Jackson Browne records)
The Washington Post has an item on the shenanigans in the House that makes it look more like a tool shed without a roof, than even simply a House divided, but this quote below from Pelosi is interesting, especially given their 3 percent approval rating and the Democrat's retreat on Iraq.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of blatant obstructionism. "They've just been deluged by the success of the Democrats on behalf of the American people," she said.
Well, someone's all wet, that much seems clear.
Labels: Congress, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi
Monday, July 30, 2007
The REAL "Dirty Harry"
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Congress Approval Ratings an lowest in recorded history: 14 Percent! So here is a Pep Talk
But have we reached the bottom of this Reid/Pelosi sinkhole yet? I'm guessing not: these guys have been in office for just FIVE MONTHS and they already have the worst approval since approval ratings for Congress have even been recorded. Think about that: President Bush is now twice as popular as the Congress. And he's not exactly king of the hill at the moment. What does that tell you?
With these kinds of numbers--and with the continued colossal incompetence of Reid and Pelosi (which shows no signs of abating)--2008 can easily become a great year for Republicans--even with all of the problems we've had. Hell guys like Frist and Allen and Steele look like rocket scientists compared to Waxman and Dingle and Murtha, and all the other wackos who are driving the bus now.
I don't think there is any question that the Democrat pandering to the hard left--keeping in mind that they ran their entire 2006 campaign as "moderate centrists"--has a lot to do with their abysmal standing. Think of all the "Blue Dogs" who ran as "supportive of the troops" who have been exposed now. And consider how this whole Immigration thing is playing out: even 55%+ of Democrats are against the immigration bill and 89% of Republicans are against it. If we can just keep the heat on and force our Senators and Congressmen hold firm enough so to kill once and for all this attempt to look the other way while millions continue to break our laws; if we can force the Marxists continue to hold the line on spending by refusing to override Presidential vetoes; and if we can make sure that Republicans hold firm on winning this war: this next election can be a historic 180 degree about-face from the last one. The war may not be popular, but my take is that tucking in our tails, abandoning all those who rely on the word of the United States actually meaning something, and withdrawing in shame to leave Iraq in the hands of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Iranians is a lot more unpopular to most thinking Americans. Otherwise why would John Kerry have tried so damn hard to come across as a "Reporting for Duty" terrorist-killing buzz-saw, when everyone knew that was complete and utter BS?
Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Teddy Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, "Iceman" Jefferson--the while lot of them--are following the Kossack Nutroots pied pipers right off off the cliff. They are committing Jim Jones Kool-Aid drinking mass suicide over there on the Left and we are still acting like that is our problem. When all we really have to do is to make sure that our still-viable minority stands by Republican principles. And then just hold on for a bumpy ride.
It has been a terrible slog for us all since November. But it is becoming increasingly clearer that it has been worse for them. FOURTEEN Percent. Just let that sink in....
So take heart: if we stand firm, we can WIN this thing. And I am talking about the whole shebang. Our task is to think positive; to keep our chin up: and keep dialing, faxing, and writing to Congress and to the media. Let's ride this thing out and then let's turn the damn thing around. If we will just stand firm for what we know is right--and if we force our wobbly-kneed politicians to do the same--there is going to be reason for celebration next year (barring massive election fraud on a Hugo Chavez scale).
So hang in there folks! But definitely keep calling those wobbly Congressmen and Senators. Next year's election is going to be won or lost in the next three months. And it is up to US. So get to work.
Labels: Border Protection, Congress, Fiscal Responsibility, Harry Reid, Illegal Immigration, Media Bias, Nancy Pelosi, Nutroots, Republican
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Defeat-o-crats Approval Numbers now below Bush's
Labels: Congress, Democrat, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Surrender Caucus
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
With Apologies to Pete Townsend....
UPDATE: Sorry about that "Won't Get Fooled Again" thing--I had to pull it; it was too much for even me.
Labels: Congress, Corruption, Democrat, Earmarks, Nancy Pelosi
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Can you find the Two Losers in this cartoon?
Cartoon by Chip Bok (click to enlarge)
Labels: Democrat Sabotage, Harry Reid, Iraq, Nancy Pelosi, Sedition, Surrender Caucus
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Defeat: The Democrats' One Trick Pony
Pelosi’s gaffe is mind boggling. Being able to find time to meet and drink tea with the Syrian thug President Assad but brushing off a briefing with America’s own Iraq Commander General Petraeus is a juxtaposition of priorities that is too delicious not to use. The idea that the defeatists are living a variation of the Three Wise Monkeys by "seeing no progress, hearing no progress, and speaking no progress” when it comes to Iraq reveals a nervousness about some of the news that is breaking through all the stories about car bombings and suicide attacks, which are down in number but not much in the casualties; the fact that some of the indicators regarding the violence are improving less than 3 months into the surge.Exactly. And, as I alluded to yesterday, when the blogs are the only place you can actually get the truth about Iraq, we as a country are in serious trouble. Because a large portion of the country still is getting their news from places other than the blogosphere.
In truth, the Democrats and the left have already left the surge for dead. No matter what news comes out of Iraq, the Democrats will spin it to prove that the strategy is not working. Unfortunately, this will be relatively easy to do since the insurgents and terrorists are very obliging in working hand in hand with the defeatists in Congress to undermine the President’s strategy by getting as big a bang for their buck with each brutal attack on innocent civilians as they can.
Of course, other elements of the new strategy not totally dependent on the military are showing signs of success. The reconstruction teams whose numbers have doubled and who have already begun working with tribal leaders to turn the tide in Anbar Province have met with many small but significant successes. This is reflected in a growing realization by Sunnis that they are likely to get a better political deal if the Americans stay rather than if our troops are withdrawn, leaving them in the lurch:
Meanwhile, opponents of the Iraqi operations back in the United States are getting nervous about the success of the security operations in Baghdad and its suburbs. The fact that nearly all the Sunni Arab tribes have joined the government is seen as a political disaster by many U.S. politicians who have declared Iraq a failed venture for the United States. It’s a bizarre situation, and long has been. You only have to visit web sites frequented by Iraqis or American troops, to see that what is reported in most of the media about Iraq is invented, or distorted beyond all reason into an alternate reality.
This “alternate reality” lived in by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi is aided and abetted by a compliant news media who appears to be too lazy to balance coverage of bloody body counts with other aspects of the surge that show some signs of progress. ...
Labels: America War Support, Democrat Sabotage, Harry Reid, Iraq, Media Bias, Media War, Nancy Pelosi, Surrender Caucus, War Successes
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Priorities of Queen Nancy
Cartoon by Michael Ramirez (click to enlarge)
Labels: Appeasement, Congress, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Pelosi, Santos: "Open to Iran Trip" UPDATED
Lantos:
"Speaking just for myself, I would be ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning, because however objectionable, unfair and inaccurate many of (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's) statements are, it is important that we have a dialogue with him,'' Lantos said. "Speaking for myself, I'm ready to go -- and knowing the speaker, I think that she might be.''Pelosi:
"But a person of Mr. Lantos' stature and personal experience is saying that -- even as a Holocaust survivor and even recognizing the outrageous statements of the president of Iran -- it's important to have dialogue. I think that speaks volumes.''I think it makes me want to hurl.
UPDATE: Gateway Pundit points out the extreme irony here.
Labels: Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi
Monday, April 09, 2007
(P.S. - The Dog Speaks for Himself)
Cartoon by Chip Bok (click to enlarge)
Labels: Cartoons, Democrat Sabotage, Iran, Nancy Pelosi, Syria, UK
Pelosi continues to take fire...
Labels: Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Puppets
Labels: Cartoons, Democrat Sabotage, Iran, Islamic Fascism, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Chris Muir Hits a Home Run
Most excellent Day by Day by Chris Muir (click to enlarge)
Labels: America War Support, Appeasement, Cartoons, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi
Not Crazy about Nancy's Syria Visit
Menawhile, Allah wonders whether Pelosi could be prosecuted under the Logan Act. I personally would LOVE to see some bold move like this, but I just don't see this President (and definitely not his emasculated AG) having the chutzpah to make such a bold move. Would it be controversial? Of course it would. Would it reassert the war powers of the executive, totally fire up the "base", and possibly even turn around the President's anemic opinion polls? Well I will put it this way: Americas want to see "strength" not wishy-washiness. If they had wanted a leader who could be blown about by every breeze, Kerry would have been the obvious choice.
Along the lines of Pelosi possibly being on the wrong side of the law--not simply politics--Fox News "Weekend Edition" tears Nancy a new one (watch the video)... Good to see at least the "fair and balanced" network give us another side of the story than the fawning of the "drive-by" elites.
If only all of this criticism were enough to undo the enormous damage Nancy has already done to our cause--and especially has done for theirs.
Labels: America War Support, Democrat Sabotage, Justice Department, Middle East, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Friday, April 06, 2007
Exceeding All Expectations
Cartoon by Glenn McCoy (click to enlarge)
Labels: Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Today's Outrage--and MUST READ
Democrats took Congress last fall in part by opposing the war in Iraq, but it is becoming clear that they view their election as a mandate for something far more ambitious--to wit, promoting and executing their own foreign policy, albeit without the detail of a Presidential election.
Their intentions were made plain this week with two remarkable acts by their House and Senate leaders. Majority Leader Harry Reid endorsed Senator Russ Feingold's proposal to withdraw from Iraq immediately, cutting off funds entirely within a year. He promised a vote soon, as part of what the Washington Post reported would also be a Democratic offensive to close Guantanamo, reinstate legal rights for terror suspects, and improve relations with Cuba.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her now famous sojourn to Syria, donning a head scarf and advertising that she was conducting shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Damascus. If there was any doubt that her trip was intended as far more than a routine Congressional "fact-finding" trip, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos put it to rest by declaring that, "We have an alternative Democratic foreign policy. I view my job as beginning with restoring overseas credibility and respect for the United States."
Americans should understand how extraordinary this is. There have been previous battles over U.S. foreign policy and fierce domestic criticism. In the 1990s, these columns defended Bill Clinton against "the Republican drift toward isolationism and political opportunism" amid the Kosovo conflict. But rarely in U.S. history have Congressional leaders sought to conduct their own independent diplomacy, with the Speaker acting as a Prime Minister traveling with a Secretary of State in the person of Mr. Lantos.
Yes, Congressional Republicans have visited Syria too. But Ms. Pelosi isn't some minority back-bencher. Without a Democrat in the White House, she and Mr. Reid are the national leaders of their party. Even Newt Gingrich, for all his grand domestic ambitions in 1995, took a muted stand on foreign policy, realizing that in the American system the executive has the bulk of national security power. He also understood he would do the country no favors by sending a mixed message to our enemies--at the time, Slobodan Milosevic.
Read the whole thing...and then stop a moment to ponder its meaning.
America made a HUGE mistake last November: that fact is slowly beginning to dawn on more and more in the mealy "center". This is a good thing--but it does not mean that America can afford "more of the same" for the next two years. The President needs to defend America, and job one is to stand up and stand for something--Americans do not need to see their Commander in Chief apparently ashamed or hesitant to call out these traitors for who and what they are.
UPDATE: See also Rich Lowry's new piece "The Capitulation Caucus". Definitely worth the click.
Labels: America War Support, Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The Supplicant
Washington Post Slams Pelosi Syria Visit UPDATE
Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure. That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.
Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
UPDATE: Rick Moran thinks Pelosi--still basking in the limelight of being seen as the "leader" of the Democrat party--has now officially gone megalomaniacal. I think he has a point.Labels: Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The Saboteur
Cartoon by Cox and Forkum (click to enlarge)
Labels: Appeasement, Democrat Sabotage, Nancy Pelosi, Syria
