How High Has That Tide Risen?
E.J. Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post has an op-ed piece up called "An Antiwar Tide on The Rise"; while he is correct that Washington's anti-war sentiment has risen, I believe he misjudges how much.
There is the reality of the anti-war sentiment, as compared to the vote last week in the House that reflected pork barrel politics and strong arming by the Speaker as much as that tide rising.
It's kind of like the hype around Al Gore's movie, and the truth of global warming. While Al tells us that ocean levels will rise 20 feet in the next century, actual scientists say between 1 and 3, maybe.
You see, if the anti-war sentiment in the House was as high as E.J. states, then there would have been no need to increase the bill's cost by 30% with add ons to buy votes. There would have been no need for orchestrated campaigns in Louisiana, Colorado and Kansas against House members based on the riders, not the bill itself. Maxine Waters wouldn't have been threatened with a committee chair seat by the Speaker if she didn't get her troops in line.
The Senate is a slightly different story, though basically the same. Because of voting rules they'll need to get a much larger majority to begin debate the bill. So they are watering down deadlines and increasing pork to even higher levels to buy votes.
The folks at The Democratic Daily disagree with me. Unfortunately, they make the mistake of most on the left, and believe that poll numbers are all that matters, and actually doing the right thing is of secondary importantance.
Technorat Tags: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Iraq, George Bush, Maxine Waters, Pork, Earmarks
There is the reality of the anti-war sentiment, as compared to the vote last week in the House that reflected pork barrel politics and strong arming by the Speaker as much as that tide rising.
It's kind of like the hype around Al Gore's movie, and the truth of global warming. While Al tells us that ocean levels will rise 20 feet in the next century, actual scientists say between 1 and 3, maybe.
You see, if the anti-war sentiment in the House was as high as E.J. states, then there would have been no need to increase the bill's cost by 30% with add ons to buy votes. There would have been no need for orchestrated campaigns in Louisiana, Colorado and Kansas against House members based on the riders, not the bill itself. Maxine Waters wouldn't have been threatened with a committee chair seat by the Speaker if she didn't get her troops in line.
The Senate is a slightly different story, though basically the same. Because of voting rules they'll need to get a much larger majority to begin debate the bill. So they are watering down deadlines and increasing pork to even higher levels to buy votes.
The folks at The Democratic Daily disagree with me. Unfortunately, they make the mistake of most on the left, and believe that poll numbers are all that matters, and actually doing the right thing is of secondary importantance.
Technorat Tags: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Iraq, George Bush, Maxine Waters, Pork, Earmarks
posted by Crazy Politico at 8:30 AM
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