With the media focused on the sectarian warfare engulfing Iraq and public opinion opposed to a troop surge, Democrats can't move their herd anywhere when it comes to Iraq.
It's beginning to cost them.
The 110th Congress of Democrats is ruled by a quorum of politicians who survived in the minority for 12 years by caving to the Republican agenda.
Led by Newt Gingrich in 1994, the Republicans leveled the Democrats into obeisance simply by exuding unflinching conviction in the pursuit of crappiness.
Last November, voters changed the leadership, but Dems shuffle uneasily beneath the specter of a strong GOP on the issue of Iraq.
Like a pack of buffalo whose eldest is picked off from the first gunshot of a hunting party, Dems now control the destiny of the Congressional herd but remain motionless as slaughter approaches.
The Democratic victories in November were built on promise and hope, but it never came from the politicians now in majority power. The people hoped; and the people allowed themselves to make little promises they dreamed Democrats could keep.
In these pages I have long maintained that Democrats would pay for indecisiveness and spinelessness. Little more than one month into the new year, my predictions are coming true.
A new CBS News poll shows that while 67 percent of the electorate opposes President Bush's troop surge, 45 percent oppose non-binding resolutions against it.
These numbers are glaringly inconsistent, and they can only reflect poorly on the Democrats. The same number of people who oppose Bush's plan should favor a resolution against it--67 percent.
They don't because talk radio has blasted non-binding resolutions as fraud for six weeks, and Democrats have not formulated a clear and decisive PR campaign to counter the GOP.
Moreover, Dems in the Senate and House opted for a flimsy non-binding resolution instead of advancing purposefully with audacious threats for Republicans who block progress--a clear symptom of the buffalo syndrome.
More bad news: while 53 percent of the respondents believe Congress should block funding for the military, 42 percent oppose this option.
Non-binding resolutions and power of the purse cover practically the whole spectrum of alternatives Congress can pursue to thwart the President's plan--which 67 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OPPOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Public opinion is the fickle pillar of democracy. It is built by leaders. Those who turned America against this war and these Republicans deserve credit for Democratic victories last November.
Since then, Democratic politicians have squandered the opportunities they enjoy as a majority to buttress their authority with new pillars of popular support. They have squandered the opportunity to create public opinion.
