So Much For Change
John Boehner and Roy Blunt have won the House leadership elections. Boehner mudstomped Mike Pence 168-27. This we can see not so much as a defeat, but rather actually giving Boehner his full chance. He was, after all, only elected to the leadership of the GOP in the House this past January. So maybe those in the House were willing to give him a second shot.
But I am left scratching my head regarding Roy Blunt, who won his race 137-57. When running against Boehner for the empty spot, vacated by Tom DeLay, Blunt leveled veiled threats to the guys at during a vetting interview, and I believe I took note of it here.
This does not bode well for trying to take a stand, and make changes. Both Houses are "balanced" between the old guard and the new guard. In the House, we now have Boehner and Blunt; the Senate we have Lott and McConnell. Two men assume the leadership, hopefully with an eye on the prize in 2008, and clearly-defined goals. In addition, it would be nice to know that they are listening to the base, and move towards a return to their principles.
What we have in the whip poistion is what is not making either Thomas or I happy. Both men were big into pork spending. Both men have skeletons in their closet, and that makes them targets for political adversaries. And, of course, we have Mel Martinez up in the RNC, which should not make a single member of the base very happy. Allah @ Hot Air notes that there are a couple of Republicans trying to undermine that decision:
The Times reported Tuesday that four potential 2008 Republican presidential contenders -- including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- had called Mr. Steele to urge him to take the RNC post, but only if he won an ironclad agreement to be free to run the RNC so as to further the party's interests rather than take orders from Mr. Rove.
Nice. Biter the hand that has fed you two consecutive presidential victories, and two consecutive congressional victories. Yes, it did not work this time around, but a true "Sith Lord" can only influence so many around them. And when the people are that sick and tired of things, they will not listen no matter who begs them to go vote. But it is nice to see that Sen. McCain still maintains that "maverick" side of his, and after giving such fine lip ser, er, speeches about conservatism and party loyalty.
On the brighter side of Congress today, Nancy Pelosi is being fed to the sharks at the New York Times:
Nancy Pelosi has managed to severely scar her leadership even before taking up the gavel as the new speaker of the House. First, she played politics with the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee to settle an old score and a new debt. And then she put herself in a lose-lose position by trying to force a badly tarnished ally, Representative John Murtha, on the incoming Democratic Congress as majority leader. The party caucus put a decisive end to that gambit yesterday, giving the No. 2 job to Steny Hoyer, a longtime Pelosi rival.
But Ms. Pelosi’s damage to herself was already done. The well-known shortcomings of Mr. Murtha were broadcast for all to see — from his quid-pro-quo addiction to moneyed lobbyists to the grainy government tape of his involvement in the Abscam scandal a generation ago. The resurrected tape — feasted upon by Pelosi enemies — shows how Mr. Murtha narrowly survived as an unindicted co-conspirator, admittedly tempted but finally rebuffing a bribe offer: “I’m not interested — at this point.”
Mr. Murtha would have been a farcical presence in a leadership promising the cleanest Congress in history. Ms. Pelosi should have been first to realize this, having made such a fiery campaign sword of her vows to end Capitol corruption. Instead, she acted like some old-time precinct boss and lost the first test before her peers.
As incoming speaker, Ms. Pelosi will be dogged by skepticism — from within the party and without — about her political smarts and her ability to deliver a galvanized agenda.
Not to be outdone, the LA Times takes its swings:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was elevated to the pinnacle of congressional power Thursday as fellow Democrats formally made her their choice as the next House speaker. But the same colleagues gave Pelosi a brusque lesson in the limits of her power when they rejected her choice for second in command.
In a battle that many felt Pelosi made unnecessarily bitter, House Democrats turned aside her personal pleas and arm-twisting and elected a Pelosi rival, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), to be House majority leader over Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).
Hoyer didn't merely defeat Murtha, Pelosi's strong preference, but trounced him in a 149-86 vote as House Democrats met to choose leaders in the wake of a midterm election that gave their party control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994.Democrats selected her as their choice for speaker, but she will not assume the post until the new Congress convenes in January and takes a formal vote.
Pelosi's failed effort to anoint her own chief lieutenant fueled doubts among critics about the political skills she brings to leading her fractious party. It also sent a clear signal of what kind of leader she is: an old-style politician who puts a premium on personal loyalty, even at the risk of high-profile defeat.
Wow, the regular media beats on those they love the way the NY sports media beats up on the Yankees. But, she deserves every bit of the criticism. She turned a leadership race that was already nasty into a three-ring circus with herself playing the role of the ringmaster. EVERYONE knows she does not like Steny Hoyer, and that their rivalry goes back a long ways. But NO ONE thought she was going to be this utterly obtuse in her opposition to him having the #2 position. Especially with the video that came out showing that Murtha knew of, and almost had a hand in, Abscam.
And to add more fuel to the fire, the voters did not sign up for retreating from Iraq. I bring this up because it is extremely relevant. The moonbats have been bringing this up that the vote for Democrats was a vote to get our of Iraq. The majority of mainstream Democrats--their base--did not say that. Their biggest concern for Iraq was that there needed to be change in strategy. The Baker Commission is taking that into account. The president is taking it into account, as well, even announcing that there will be additional deployments to Iraq in a final push against the terrorists. But John Murtha's retreat plan was not what voters wanted.
It is not that we see no end in sight. On the contrary, we do see the end in sight. It is simply a matter of getting there, and it starts with being tue and effective on the battlefield. Take the fight to the terrorists. Be pro-active; moreso than they are now.
Pelosi deserves the verbal beating she is taking today. What we do not deserve are the whips for our side of the aisle in either House. We will accept Boehner and McConnell, but we would prefer that Lott and Blunt take a hike. Their days were in the past. New people and a fresh start is what we needed. If the whips can keep their noses clean, they I suppose they can stay. But if any of the past you-scratch-my-back-and-I-will-scratch-yours sorts of shenanigans start, then they wil have to go.
Marcie
UPDATE: Going back to the Speaker Pelosi dogpile, Slate tosses this in for good measure:
Here's what I propose. Let Pelosi remain speaker for now. But let her know that, before the new Congress even begins, she has placed herself on probation. If she chooses Hastings to chair House intelligence, that's two strikes. One more strike—even a minor misstep—and House Democrats will demonstrate that they, unlike Speaker-elect Pelosi and President Bush, know how to correct their mistakes. If this scenario strikes you as unrealistic, I will only say this: Remember Bob Livingston.
John Boehner and Roy Blunt have won the House leadership elections. Boehner mudstomped Mike Pence 168-27. This we can see not so much as a defeat, but rather actually giving Boehner his full chance. He was, after all, only elected to the leadership of the GOP in the House this past January. So maybe those in the House were willing to give him a second shot.
But I am left scratching my head regarding Roy Blunt, who won his race 137-57. When running against Boehner for the empty spot, vacated by Tom DeLay, Blunt leveled veiled threats to the guys at during a vetting interview, and I believe I took note of it here.
This does not bode well for trying to take a stand, and make changes. Both Houses are "balanced" between the old guard and the new guard. In the House, we now have Boehner and Blunt; the Senate we have Lott and McConnell. Two men assume the leadership, hopefully with an eye on the prize in 2008, and clearly-defined goals. In addition, it would be nice to know that they are listening to the base, and move towards a return to their principles.
What we have in the whip poistion is what is not making either Thomas or I happy. Both men were big into pork spending. Both men have skeletons in their closet, and that makes them targets for political adversaries. And, of course, we have Mel Martinez up in the RNC, which should not make a single member of the base very happy. Allah @ Hot Air notes that there are a couple of Republicans trying to undermine that decision:
The Times reported Tuesday that four potential 2008 Republican presidential contenders -- including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- had called Mr. Steele to urge him to take the RNC post, but only if he won an ironclad agreement to be free to run the RNC so as to further the party's interests rather than take orders from Mr. Rove.
Nice. Biter the hand that has fed you two consecutive presidential victories, and two consecutive congressional victories. Yes, it did not work this time around, but a true "Sith Lord" can only influence so many around them. And when the people are that sick and tired of things, they will not listen no matter who begs them to go vote. But it is nice to see that Sen. McCain still maintains that "maverick" side of his, and after giving such fine lip ser, er, speeches about conservatism and party loyalty.
On the brighter side of Congress today, Nancy Pelosi is being fed to the sharks at the New York Times:
Nancy Pelosi has managed to severely scar her leadership even before taking up the gavel as the new speaker of the House. First, she played politics with the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee to settle an old score and a new debt. And then she put herself in a lose-lose position by trying to force a badly tarnished ally, Representative John Murtha, on the incoming Democratic Congress as majority leader. The party caucus put a decisive end to that gambit yesterday, giving the No. 2 job to Steny Hoyer, a longtime Pelosi rival.
But Ms. Pelosi’s damage to herself was already done. The well-known shortcomings of Mr. Murtha were broadcast for all to see — from his quid-pro-quo addiction to moneyed lobbyists to the grainy government tape of his involvement in the Abscam scandal a generation ago. The resurrected tape — feasted upon by Pelosi enemies — shows how Mr. Murtha narrowly survived as an unindicted co-conspirator, admittedly tempted but finally rebuffing a bribe offer: “I’m not interested — at this point.”
Mr. Murtha would have been a farcical presence in a leadership promising the cleanest Congress in history. Ms. Pelosi should have been first to realize this, having made such a fiery campaign sword of her vows to end Capitol corruption. Instead, she acted like some old-time precinct boss and lost the first test before her peers.
As incoming speaker, Ms. Pelosi will be dogged by skepticism — from within the party and without — about her political smarts and her ability to deliver a galvanized agenda.
Not to be outdone, the LA Times takes its swings:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was elevated to the pinnacle of congressional power Thursday as fellow Democrats formally made her their choice as the next House speaker. But the same colleagues gave Pelosi a brusque lesson in the limits of her power when they rejected her choice for second in command.
In a battle that many felt Pelosi made unnecessarily bitter, House Democrats turned aside her personal pleas and arm-twisting and elected a Pelosi rival, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), to be House majority leader over Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).
Hoyer didn't merely defeat Murtha, Pelosi's strong preference, but trounced him in a 149-86 vote as House Democrats met to choose leaders in the wake of a midterm election that gave their party control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994.Democrats selected her as their choice for speaker, but she will not assume the post until the new Congress convenes in January and takes a formal vote.
Pelosi's failed effort to anoint her own chief lieutenant fueled doubts among critics about the political skills she brings to leading her fractious party. It also sent a clear signal of what kind of leader she is: an old-style politician who puts a premium on personal loyalty, even at the risk of high-profile defeat.
Wow, the regular media beats on those they love the way the NY sports media beats up on the Yankees. But, she deserves every bit of the criticism. She turned a leadership race that was already nasty into a three-ring circus with herself playing the role of the ringmaster. EVERYONE knows she does not like Steny Hoyer, and that their rivalry goes back a long ways. But NO ONE thought she was going to be this utterly obtuse in her opposition to him having the #2 position. Especially with the video that came out showing that Murtha knew of, and almost had a hand in, Abscam.
And to add more fuel to the fire, the voters did not sign up for retreating from Iraq. I bring this up because it is extremely relevant. The moonbats have been bringing this up that the vote for Democrats was a vote to get our of Iraq. The majority of mainstream Democrats--their base--did not say that. Their biggest concern for Iraq was that there needed to be change in strategy. The Baker Commission is taking that into account. The president is taking it into account, as well, even announcing that there will be additional deployments to Iraq in a final push against the terrorists. But John Murtha's retreat plan was not what voters wanted.
It is not that we see no end in sight. On the contrary, we do see the end in sight. It is simply a matter of getting there, and it starts with being tue and effective on the battlefield. Take the fight to the terrorists. Be pro-active; moreso than they are now.
Pelosi deserves the verbal beating she is taking today. What we do not deserve are the whips for our side of the aisle in either House. We will accept Boehner and McConnell, but we would prefer that Lott and Blunt take a hike. Their days were in the past. New people and a fresh start is what we needed. If the whips can keep their noses clean, they I suppose they can stay. But if any of the past you-scratch-my-back-and-I-will-scratch-yours sorts of shenanigans start, then they wil have to go.
Marcie
UPDATE: Going back to the Speaker Pelosi dogpile, Slate tosses this in for good measure:
Here's what I propose. Let Pelosi remain speaker for now. But let her know that, before the new Congress even begins, she has placed herself on probation. If she chooses Hastings to chair House intelligence, that's two strikes. One more strike—even a minor misstep—and House Democrats will demonstrate that they, unlike Speaker-elect Pelosi and President Bush, know how to correct their mistakes. If this scenario strikes you as unrealistic, I will only say this: Remember Bob Livingston.
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 11:24 AM
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