The Republicans are good at what they do. It’s a dirty rotten game, but it seems like they’ve been bred to play it, which is the difference between Republicans and Democrats. The Republican Party is the party of the scoundrels and thieves and thugs while the Democrats are the party of the Mr. Smiths that lost their way.
The Republicans have adopted a strategy of making the Democrats own up to the spineless weak stances they take---the stances where you aren’t sure if they are for or against it. They are working to eliminate the stances where Democrats say they were for it before they were against it or the stances that go like this: “If only I had known now what I know today.”
But the Republicans know all the information has been out for every politician to read. The Democrats have read it. It’s just that the Democratic Party’s constituents do not want them to say, “The Republicans are right,” or something tantamount to that.
This presents the Democrats with a dilemma: piss off the voters that elected them or piss off the corporate powers that be that really elected them.
The Democrats don’t want to impeach, end the war, repeal NAFTA, create single-payer health care, enact real reform to combat the effects of global warming, repeal the PATRIOT Act, fight telecom immunity, or any other act that would strengthen our democracy because it would not be in the best interest of the corporate or establishment powers that keep them high and mighty. They don’t want to appear to be against any of those either so they create these explanations with holes so big you could drive an H2 Hummer through them.
Not enough time to impeach. Couldn’t defund the war because it would endanger our troops whom we support. Can’t just phase the insurance companies out of health care---that's not practical. And so on.
That is why the Republicans are not giving Harry Reid his desired extension on the Protect America Act. They want to hear Democrats take on Kit Bond who believes the Constitution gives the authority for warrantless wiretapping to be conducted. They want to hear the Democrats handle a real Democrat like Chris Dodd who will be filibustering telecom immunity and maybe even the renewal of the Protect America Act (one can only hope).
That is why the Republicans did what they did when Dennis Kucinich, presidential candidate and the leader in the fight to impeach Cheney and Bush, offered a privileged resolution in the House after the House Judiciary Committee had failed to advance his articles of impeachment for Cheney any further. They voted for it hoping a debate on the resolution would occur where Democrats would have to take a stand on the issue of impeachment.
The Democrats dodged a bullet and got the resolution advanced to the House Judiciary without debate where it’s been stalled despite the best efforts of Congressman Robert Wexler. But they haven’t dodged the strategy the Republicans are employing. Not by a long shot.
