[Cross posted at DKos. And all bolds are mine.]
That's really what Darrell Issa has done, and judging by Bush's comments, it's obvious even to him, well, maybe his handlers. Funny, on the same day that Dick Cheney is trotting out that absurd canard about Hussein and al Qaeda being linked in unholy matrimony, Issa is in Damascus saying this:
He told reporters in the Middle East that Bush has failed to promote the dialogue necessary to resolve disagreements between the United States and Syria.
“That's an important message to realize: We have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies,”
As the reporter writes,
Whatever else Issa's trip may have accomplished, it seemed to take what little air was left out of the partisan rage over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's meeting with Assad just a day earlier.
President Bush's sharp criticism of Pelosi for her visit left the White House little room to move when asked about Issa's travels.
Events are leaving Bush behind, his policy of isolating Syria serves no purpose except to make war more likely and peaceful solutions to the chaos in Iraq less likely. Which, as we all know, is the Bush Administration objective, and why they need to be removed from office, as soon as possible, rather than later. When Cheney keeps trotting out his delusion speak to try to wrest the dialogue back to his perverted view of things, and when faithful soldiers like Issa slap Bush policy in the face, you know these guys have lost their standing. Like the chicken dashing about sans head, they just haven't had the reality sink in yet.
Consider this comment from Cheney's interview. He's also said the same thing if the bills are loaded up with pork, on nonessential spending. That would be to veto the supplemental spending bill of course. And by non-essential spending Cheney means funds for the victims of Katrina and FEMA, funds to ameliorate some of the devastating effects of the drought on our farmers, gosh, funds to improve the care and treatment of the Veterans maimed by Cheney's delusion run rampant and Veterans from past service to this nation. Yes, that's mighty non-essential isn't it?
Look, this Administration has been, in actual political reality, wrong or totally inappropriate on everything they've done or decided. Granted that they have done all of these things to perpetuate their clawlike grip on power for their real constituency, Wall Street and the Corporate Boardroom, that world is not the everyday world of people's lives, and those more or less removed from their rovian world are showing some inclination to try to return this country back to reality for the people.
Those most invested in BushCo, like limbaugh or Dobson or Doolittle or Lewis or Hatch will not change, but the tide of history is starting to turn against these lunatics, because what they want to do is not sustainable in the real world. We will see more and more of the Issa's of the country turn against these guys, and not a day to soon.
This business with Syria is a perfect demonstration of the realities, and the criminal values of Bush's "policies" as they play out in that real world. It's absurd, and detrimental, and only serves one purpose, to further their war, and all of the benefits that BushCo derives from that. Money, Power, Junkets, House and Senate Fiefdoms, Radio Talk Show Fiefdoms, did I mention Money and Power? And I don't think a place in heaven with virgins and grapes and what not is a part of what they want for themselves.
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5 comments:
The fact is the bill never would have passed if it hadn't been for the pork as stated by Charlie Rangel.
non-essential spending:
$283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program, $100 million for the Democratic and Republican Conventions, $74 million for peanut storage costs, $60.4 million for salmon fisheries, $50 million for asbestos mitigation at the U.S. Capitol Plant, $25 million for spinach growers, $24 million for sugar beet growers, $20 million to combat Mormon crickets, $6.4 million for the House of Representatives' salaries and expense accounts, and $3.5 million for Capitol tours.
Care to provide a link for those figures?
So, what, are you saying that all of these selective numbers you're claiming are examples of non-essential spending?
Spinach growers, for instance took a huge financial hit after the e coli scare, a problem due in large measure to failures of the FDA and Homeland Security, sounds like the Democrats are trying to correct that failure and preserve an important industry.
Oh, and by the by, this is how Congress operates. The Republicans were forever attaching ANWR drilling laws to supplementals and budget bills as an example, you all didn't pitch a hissy fit over that like you all are doing now.
Earmarks often serve very valid purposes, it just depends on what they're for. If you want to build a bridge to nowhere, or get a highway to pass right next to some property of yours, or whatever it was that Hastert did, that isn't one of those valid purposes, that's just swilling off of taxpayers money. Help out farmers after some disaster, help some city to defray the ridiculous security costs imposed by our collective fear, for our political conventions, planning of which needs to start now including setting up security, well, then so be it. There's nothing wrong with those spending additions, and I notice that you ignored the biggest ones.
http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CCAGW_getinv_Advocacy_EmerSupp2_IssuePage
Thanks for the link. By my estimate those add up to about $500 million. Seeing as how the Democrats have added some $20 BILLION more, I don't think the complaint against all this pork really holds much water.
All of those things are, I dare say, of some necessity. But what about the Veterans assistance and Hurricane assistance that make up the bulk of the $20 Billion?
They can cut out your precious $500 Million, if that's all that's holding up Bush signing this bill I don't think anybody would much care, but we both know that isn't the case, is it?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/opinion/30intro.html?ex=1176264000&en=d9c9647b25cf6cd7&ei=5070
The point is they should be argued on their own merit, not tacked on to a bill for emergency spending for the military. I know it is how Congress works. That's the problem.
Yes, republicans were worse, mostly because of the hypocrisy.
($500 million here, $500 million there. Pretty soon it adds up to a lot.)
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