Getting to sense

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board begins their “Review and Outlook” opinion piece this morning by comparing Congress to the famous Delta House;

In the movie “Animal House,” the fraternity brother known as Otter reacts to the Delta House’s closure with the classic line, “I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part.” To which Bluto, played by John Belushi, replies, “We’re just the guys to do it.” The movie ends by noting that Bluto becomes a Senator, so perhaps this explains the meltdown among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

But, after submitting the same failed funding legislation, like a bunch of mental patients, to the President knowing it’d be vetoed, the House seems to have caved, finally, according to The Hill’s Alexander Bolton;

The Democrats’ capitulation Wednesday on the total domestic spending level is the latest instance of Bush prevailing on a major policy showdown. Bush and his Senate Republican allies have repeatedly beat back efforts by Democrats to place restrictions on funding for the war in Iraq as well as Democratic attempts to expand funding of children’s health insurance by $35 billion.
 
Democratic leaders said Wednesday that they would keep total spending at the strict $933 billion limit set by the White House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also abandoned a proposal she supported Tuesday to eliminate lawmakers’ earmarks from spending bills after she faced stiff opposition from powerful fellow Democrats. 

But Nancy Pelosi couldn’t help but take a sidelong glancing blow on her way to capitulation (AP/Breitbart);

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Republicans on Thursday, saying they want the Iraq war to drag on and are ignoring the public’s priorities.
“They like this war. They want this war to continue,” Pelosi, D- Calif., told reporters. She expressed frustration over Republicans’ ability to force majority Democrats to yield ground on taxes, spending, energy, war spending and other matters.

“We thought that they shared the view of so many people in our country that we needed a new direction in Iraq,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference in the Capitol. “But the Republicans have made it very clear that this is not just George Bush’s war. This is the war of the Republicans in Congress.”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once wrote in “Crime and Punishment”, “If you keep talking big nonsense, you will get to sense!”. Well, Speaker Pelosi, we’re still waiting for you to get to sense.

This is the war of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic (you might remember line that from your oath), there’s nothing to like about it – except the end result. I guess the Democrats think there’s no downside to opposing the war, since war is absolutely distasteful to everyone. Well, the President has made a downside for them. From the WSJ piece;

On nearly every issue, Democrats have been intent not on getting something done but on making a stupid, futile gesture to please their base.

As for Mr. Bush, one lesson is that his veto strategy has been a political and policy success. Though widely called a lame duck, he continues to dominate the debate on security and defense. He is also on the cusp of controlling spending growth far better than he ever did when Republicans controlled Congress.

Now, if Congressional Democrats would recognize that the path to sense doesn’t pass through Code Pink’s living room….

Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard wrote; Today [Pelosi] angrily told reporters that Republicans “like” the war in Iraq. Then she backpedaled as fast as she could as soon as she realized what an idiot she sounded like.

Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive; I mean I’m just trying to wrap my tired little melon around her sad belief that you can just end a war, you can’t.You either lose it or win it.

Curt at Flopping Aces; Instead of doing real Congressional business she will push forth bills that her and her cohorts understand have no chance….NO CHANCE of becoming law.  Instead of working with those on the other side of the aisle she has allowed bills to languish or go down to defeat all to send a message.

Samantha Sault at The Weekly Standard Blog quotes Glenn Greenwald; “Nothing exudes strength, courage, toughness and resolve like having your behavior continuously described–accurately–as ‘bowing,’ ‘capitulating,’ ‘backing down,’ ‘caving’ and ‘surrendering.’ Those are the verbs Americans love most when looking for the party to lead them.”

Michele Malkin claims Pelosi is channeling Pete Stark.

Hot Air says she’s incompetent; Pelosi is simply not a leader worthy of the office she holds. She’s not up to the job. Check out her record just in the past few weeks. Or recall that she contemplated putting the disgraced and corrupt Alcee Hastings in charge of the House Intelligence Committee. Or her attempt to put Jack “Abscam” Murtha in as Majority Leader. Or her for-it-before-she-was-against-it dishonesty on waterboarding.

Gateway Pundit has the video of Pelosi.

Crotchety Old Bastard reminds us that Pelosi has political worries to overcome on her own turf; Pelosi Unhinged or Just Feeling the Heat?

Category: Antiwar crowd, Politics