The First Hundred Hours...
...begins today. We will see what the new Congress holds for us. Will the uni-partisan hundred-hour sequestration produce a responsible and ambitious legislative agenda that will help bridge partisan divides, or will it try to usher in a tribute to Haight-Ashbury hippy culture native to its leader, Nancy Pelosi (which translates as "water pipe" in idiomatic Italian). Some of the initiatives sound reasonable: a reputed moratorium on pork barrel bill riders and severe curtailment of lobbyist perks. Much of the rest remains murky, and probably deliberately so, since it may not play well in Peoria. Or across the aisles.
Again, these first few weeks and months of the 110th Congress will give us a chance to see whether the Democrats will attempt to govern responsibly (which for them means "business as usual in Washington") or will attempt to play to their radicalized base (where Speaker Pelosi claims her roots).
Much of their program is to be revealed today and tomorrow. Those of us disgusted with both parties will watch carefully to see whether Iperial Government continues its perk-filled romp, the pot-head left attempts to usher in Hippy Heaven in the halls of the Capitol, or there will be some genuine effort to change things for the good. I honestly expect some combination of the three.
I do not fear what I know is coming from the left in foreign policy: leftist internationalism, appeasement, and defeat in Iraq. Every sign of weakness we show now only hastens and makes worse the war we will have to fight later. Hastening it is not necessarily a bad thing, however. Nothing the Democrats can do, short of winning the war we are already fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, can prevent the war that is to come. By hastening it, they may even reduce the severity of the measures necessary to win it. In any case, their inevitable wavering and appeasement will certainly encourage our eneies -- perhaps making them take us for granted, as did Germany and Japan in WW II. Let's take the long view and hope so.
Monk
Update 4 Jan: I t appears they've gotten off to a decent start, by booting Rep WIlliam "Frosty" Jeferson off the House Ways and Means Committee by an ooverwhelming majority, after a debate in which only speaker Pelosi publically defended his removal. Several members of the Democratic Black Caucus objected that Poleosi was acting like an "empress," but she held her ground and defended the move. This bodes well. I'm no fan of Pelosi's, but this is an encouraging sign and represents a much more neutral stance than I expected from the incoming Congress.
Again, these first few weeks and months of the 110th Congress will give us a chance to see whether the Democrats will attempt to govern responsibly (which for them means "business as usual in Washington") or will attempt to play to their radicalized base (where Speaker Pelosi claims her roots).
Much of their program is to be revealed today and tomorrow. Those of us disgusted with both parties will watch carefully to see whether Iperial Government continues its perk-filled romp, the pot-head left attempts to usher in Hippy Heaven in the halls of the Capitol, or there will be some genuine effort to change things for the good. I honestly expect some combination of the three.
I do not fear what I know is coming from the left in foreign policy: leftist internationalism, appeasement, and defeat in Iraq. Every sign of weakness we show now only hastens and makes worse the war we will have to fight later. Hastening it is not necessarily a bad thing, however. Nothing the Democrats can do, short of winning the war we are already fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, can prevent the war that is to come. By hastening it, they may even reduce the severity of the measures necessary to win it. In any case, their inevitable wavering and appeasement will certainly encourage our eneies -- perhaps making them take us for granted, as did Germany and Japan in WW II. Let's take the long view and hope so.
Monk
Update 4 Jan: I t appears they've gotten off to a decent start, by booting Rep WIlliam "Frosty" Jeferson off the House Ways and Means Committee by an ooverwhelming majority, after a debate in which only speaker Pelosi publically defended his removal. Several members of the Democratic Black Caucus objected that Poleosi was acting like an "empress," but she held her ground and defended the move. This bodes well. I'm no fan of Pelosi's, but this is an encouraging sign and represents a much more neutral stance than I expected from the incoming Congress.
posted by Monk | 05:50
