posted on January 2, 2007 12:42:24 PM new
They haven't even taken control yet -but so much has already been changing from what they PROMISED before the elections.
Can't wait to see what they do in their first 100 hours/100 days.
But their promise to 'work together' doesn't sound like it's going to be happening either, from articles I've read.
Nope...breaking THAT promise to the voters already. tsk tsk tsk
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Monday, January 1, 2007
Backpedalling Democrats
House Democratic leaders had hardly finished celebrating their election victory when they began backing away from parts of their 2006 campaign agenda to move the country in a new direction.
Two major proposals in their election year agenda were shredded last month by Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi - a signal that her party may not be able to deliver on all their promises to voters.
One was the promise to implement all of the recommendations by the bipartisan 9/11 commission, including the way Congress oversees and funds the government's intelligence agencies.
"Of all our recommendations, strengthening congressional oversight may be among the most difficult and important," the commission said in its report.
The Pelosi Democrats endlessly repeated throughout the campaign that if they were put in charge of Congress again, they would swiftly enact all of the remaining recommendations (the Bush administration implemented most of them).
The one area in need of fixing was the cumbersome and inefficient way Congress's wilderness of committees and subcommittees deals with the government's national security intelligence apparatus.
But Pelosi soon found that this promise was not popular among a lot of incoming chairmen whose legislative turf, and thus the source of their power, was threatened. So she announced that any change in the way the committee
structure operated was inoperative.
Instead, the problem will be studied further, she said.
Pelosi's move comes after she was criticized for not making Rep. Jane Harmon of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, its new chairman, despite her experience in and knowledge of intelligence matters.
Pelosi considered putting Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings in charge of the panel, the former federal judge who was impeached on charges of bribery and removed from the bench.
[[[[So much for their cleaning up DC...lol...three unethical dems now]]]]
When that idea met with overwhelming opposition, she dug down into the ranks and chose a little-known, inexperienced lawmaker with tissue-paper-thin knowledge of the national security terrain.
Then there was the promise to make the legislative process fairer by giving the Republicans every opportunity to amend bills and offer their own substitutes. That was scuttled, too, when Pelosi and her deputies decided they did not want any serious alternative to their proposed bill to raise taxes on oil and gas companies.
Instead of allowing a vote on a substitute bill, the Democrats will only allow a vote to recommit, which sends a measure back to committee - a very difficult procedural move that rarely occurs.
These and other signals that the Democrats are all too willing to break their election year pledges to the voters do not bode well for a party that wants the American people to believe it can be trusted once again to keep its commitments and govern responsibly.
The new congressional session hasn't even begun yet and the Pelosi Democrats seems to be backpedalling from their solemn vows for change.
Donald Lambro, chief political correspondent, The Washington Times
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
Ann Coulter
[ edited by Linda_K on Jan 2, 2007 12:50 PM ]
posted on January 2, 2007 01:21:09 PM newConyers accepts responsibility for possible ethics violations
By Jonathan E. Kaplan and Jackie Kucinich
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has "accepted responsibility" for possibly violating House rules by requiring his official staff to perform campaign-related work, according to a statement quietly released by the House ethics committee late Friday evening.
The top Republican and Democratic members on the ethics panel, Reps. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), said in a statement that Conyers acknowledged a "lack of clarity" in communicating what was expected of his official staff and that he accepted responsibility for his actions.
"[Conyers] agreed to take a number of additional, significant steps to ensure that his office complies with all rules and standards regarding campaign and
personal work by congressional staff," they stated. "We have concluded that this matter should be resolved through the issuance of this public statement."
The finding by the ethics panel could spark debate, and perhaps eclipse, the first week of the incoming-Democratic majority's plans to change the House ethics rules, as well as raise questions about Conyers' standing to chair the Judiciary Committee.
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
