1
POPSDemocrats Consider New Energy Strategy “I think there’s far more support across the board for SPR than anything else,” a senior aide said. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have not said what the final SPR bill would look like, nor have they said what energy measures — which could also include a speculation bill — will be brought to the floor this week or under what rules.
10
POPSThe Democrats' Fairy Tale
And the improvements in Anbar could never have been sustained without aggressive American military efforts — efforts that were more effective in 2007 than they had been in 2006, due in part to the addition of the surge forces. Last year’s success, in Anbar and elsewhere, was made possible by confidence among Iraqis that U.S. troops would stay and help protect them, that the U.S. would not abandon them to their enemies. Because the U.S. sent more troops instead of withdrawing — because, in other words, President Bush won his battles in 2007 with the Democratic Congress — we have been able to turn around the situation in Iraq. And now Iraq’s Parliament has passed a de-Baathification law — one of the so-called benchmarks Congress established for political reconciliation. For much of 2007, Democrats were able to deprecate the military progress and political reconciliation taking place on the ground by harping on the failure of the Iraqi government to pass the benchmark legislation
2
POPSNow Bush Is Appeasing Iran joined envoys from France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany in talks with Saeed Jalili -- Iran's nuclear negotiator and an Ahmadinejad confidant -- about incentives to give to Tehran. ven with record oil prices, mismanagement has driven the Iranian economy into the ground. On July 14, the Ministry of Housing reported an "historical" 125% rise in housing prices. The same day, Tabnak, a news Web site run by a former head of the IRGC, admitted foodstuff inflation had reached 50% annually. On July 8, 2008, a National Iranian Oil Company executive acknowledged in the Iranian press that, without significant investment in infrastructure, Iranian oil production would decline each year by 300,000 barrels a day. In the past month alone, Iranian workers have struck for unpaid wages at the Khodro automotive plant (which assembles Peugeots), the Alburz Tire Company, and the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane factory.
3
POPSChavez Meets Russia's Medvedev For Trade Talks "We expect the signing of a range of contracts" in the arms sector, a member of the Venezuelan delegation was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. He added that purchases could include Russian tanks and submarines. Chavez was also due to meet Sergei Chemezov, who oversees Russian arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, a Kremin source said Tuesday. Rosoboronexport spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko declined to comment about specific weapons deals, but he told AFP the two sides had drafted a document providing a "legal basis" for future arms deliveries. The Kommersant daily said Tuesday that a complicating factor in talks could be Venezuela's relationship with its neighbour Colombia, which accuses Chavez of aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a rebel group. If Russian weapons surface in the conflict zone, Moscow would be threatened not only with a significant worsening of relations with Bogota, but with Washington too,"
1
POPSSupport Of Obama Shaped By Ahmad Chalabi Advice security decisions of Iraq's army to forward a Shiite confessional agenda. The role of Mr. Chalabi, whose party failed to gain any seats in the 2005 federal parliamentary elections, should be of interest to close watchers of the Bush administration. While Mr. Chalabi has clashed with both the American embassy and at times with Mr. Maliki, he nonetheless is still regarded among the Shiite political class as knowledgeable of American politics from his days lobbying for the Iraq Liberation Act in Washington. At the time, in the late 1990s, Senator McCain was one of Mr. Chalabi's biggest supporters. Mr. Brooke yesterday pointed out that Mr. Chalabi was appointed in 2007 by Mr. Maliki to chair a special committee aimed at restoring basic services to the citizens of Baghdad. "Maliki was number two in the Debaathification commission from the beginning when it was started in 2003. He has been in constant contact with Dr. Chalabi since that time," Mr. Brooke said.
5
POPSDemocrats And Gasoline that they must have some gall to criticize creationism when they in fact subscribe to its economic equivalent. But as I wrote last week, I don't really think they are this ignorant. They're providing a rhetorical distraction to the fact that they want high gas prices, probably higher ones than we have right now. Meanwhile, in order to deflect and even harness consumer anger in the political arena, they can send out Chuck Schumer to put on this dog-and-pony show about the phantoms that are secretly directing the economy from behind closed doors. It's a smokescreen. As an energy consumer, you should be a lot more concerned about what Democrats are doing in the open Senate chamber. The gas crisis finally hit Capitol Hill with full fury this week, and Senate Democrats have launched a plan that sounds ambitious: Take on Wall Street speculators, OPEC, price gougers and Big Oil. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9967.html
1
POPSThe Group Of Eights' Empty Rhetoric With rising gas costs, Americans in a variety of polls have shown by a majority they now want to explore offshore drilling, so this move will be popular among that majority and John McCain has been pushing for it as well. Reported on June 26, 2008, the InsiderAdvantage/Poll, asks "Do you favor or oppose increased exploration and production of oil and natural gas off the coasts of Florida?” Favor (61%) Oppose (32%) No opinion (7%) Rasmussen- June 17, 2008: "67% Support Offshore Drilling, 64% Expect it Will Lower Prices." Zogby- June 26, 2008: "74 percent support offshore oil drilling in U.S."
6
POPSObama Now Supports The Bush Policy?...And How 'Bout The Worshipping Media The press isn’t just acting like Obama is already president - they’re exceeding the sort of international coverage they have given the sitting president, who could barely buy a headline while in Africa and whose recent trip to Japan - which occurred during his birthday - went widely unnoted. But that’s the honest, balanced, unbiased mediating intelligence” of the modern day mainstream media. You do realize, don’t you, that if a GOP candidate with weak foreign policy was doing the same thing - making a “world tour” with dramatic backdrops - the press would be sneering about how the whole thing is a “stunt” meant to “deflect his inexperience.” I know you know it, but I had to say it, anyway. But hey, no bias here.
2
POPSEmail Congress: Help Us Lower Energy Prices! Some in Congress are offering a nonsensical energy policy that would do nothing to bring down the price of fuel. This week Congress will be taking up an anti-energy package that would actually do more to increase the price of gas by imposing restrictions on leases held by energy companies as well as on Alaskan oil exportation. This legislative package misses the mark for providing our country with real energy security and its misguided policy actually does more harm than good.
14
POPSBravo For Bush And Bravo For The Traders Well, if Congress moves to seal the deal, oil prices will probably keep on falling. That’s the way traders work. They discount the future. Psychology and expectations can turn on a dime. The congressional ban on offshore drilling expires September 30, so that becomes a key date. A new report from Wall Street research house Sanford C. Bernstein says that California actually could start producing new oil within one year if the moratorium were lifted. The California oil is under shallow water and already has been explored. Drilling platforms have been in place since before the moratorium. They’re talking about 10 billion barrels worth off the coast of California. There’s also a “gang of 10” in the Senate, five Republicans and five Democrats, that is trying to work a compromise deal on lifting the moratorium. So it’s possible a lot of action on this front could occur much sooner than people seem to think. Deregulate, decontrol, and unleash the American energy industry.
3
POPSFeckless To Reckless, Pelosi Should Resign But she's not fooling anyone. In playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the speaker has moved beyond the incompetence and irresponsibility that have characterized her leadership to date. President Bush, however, isn't about to be suckered into releasing the reserves just long enough for pump prices to fall by Election Day, thereby saving Democrats' skins so they can carry on their drill-nothingism for an additional two years. The president needs to do two things with Pelosi's proposal: First, tell her "no," unless she comes up with a plan to open up more drilling. Second, expose it for what it is — a bid to paint Bush as the problem to distract from her own sorry record. borders on recklessness, something we cannot tolerate in such dangerous times.
3
POPSFreedom Rider: Obama's Iraq "Fairy Tale" The latest case of buyer’s remorse concerns Obama’s statements about his plan to visit Iraq in the near future. “I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed. And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.” It may be helpful to take a trip down memory lane and fully dissect the fairy tale of the anti-war candidate. In 2004 Senate candidate Barack Obama did not brag about being against the occupation of Iraq e was far more circumspect, criticizing president Bush only for badly managing a war of aggression, and emphasizing that he was not that much different. "There's not that much difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage. The difference, in my mind, is who's in a position to execute."
13
POPSTony Snow, Dies at 53 Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Ky., the son of a teacher and nurse. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and he taught briefly in Kenya before embarking on his career as a journalist. He became a nationally syndicated columnist, and in 1991 he became director of speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush. Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. In 2007, he announced that his cancer had recurred and had spread to his liver. He resigned from the White House weeks later and was replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino. After taking time off to recuperate, Snow joined CNN as a conservative political correspondent early this year. Snow is survived by his wife, Jill, their son Robbie and their daughters Kendell and Christie.
5
POPSAbout That 550 Tons Of Yellow Cake Had the United States not invaded Iraq in 2003, that 550 metric tons of yellow cake would have remained physically within Saddam's sphere of influence. Again, perhaps that would not bother some, but in light of 9/11, it bothered many Americans, including President Bush. Yellow cake is a very dangerous substance, which can be converted to WMD with the right equipment and technology. To believe that Saddam Hussein lacked the ability or motivation to acquire and perfect the equipment for production of nuclear WMD is, in my opinion, foolhardy and naive. Those who believe that presence of IAEA inspectors assured that the yellow cake was controlled and adequately protected from diversion can explore the facts: Those who wish to explore the facts further should Goggle "IAEA effectiveness in Iraq" to glean more information, which includes, in part, the following report from the Nuclear Control Institute (http://www.nci.org/new/iraq-ib.htm):
1
POPSReid: Spending Bills Will Likely Wait Until Bush Is Gone Reid’s statement, while not unexpected, adds a note of finality to speculation that the Senate would act on the 12 annual appropriation bills. He also said that he doesn’t expect Congress to return for a post-election, lame-duck session. Under that scenario, Congress would only be in session for another six weeks this year.
4
POPSPelosi: Drilling In Protected Areas ‘A Hoax’ Democrats would not say when these bills would be ready for floor consideration. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) took to the floor to again criticize Democrats for dodging votes on energy bills, charging that Democrats are avoiding votes on the opening up of the Artic National Wildlife Refuge and the OCS. Hoyer soon followed to retort, saying he and Democratic leaders have for weeks been urging for drilling on approved acres, only to have those efforts blocked by Republicans. He blamed Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney – the “two oil men in the White House” – and Republicans for setting an energy policy that has driven up gas prices and steered record profits to the energy companies. “As every serious person who has studied this issue knows, the proposals that Democrats are producing are shams and hoaxes designed to provide political cover and not to produce more American energy and lower gas prices,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.
4
POPSVoters Give Congress Nine-Percent Approval Rating Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008. The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month. Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance/congressional_performance
7
POPSHope + Change = 70% Tax Rate Still, Barack assures us that John McCain's and George Bush's policy stances are indistinguishable, so let's so stipulate. Is that worse than the alternative? After all, what President in the modern era does Senator Obama's agenda most resemble? Huge expansion of the federal government? Check. Letting entitlement spending run wild? Check. "Windfall profit" taxes on oil companies? Strong desire to meet with dictators and state terrorism sponsors? Big doofy grin? Check, check, and check. The Tax Man Cometh Obama’s Plan Since the early 1980s — after Americans rejected Jimmy Carter and embraced Ronald Reagan and his tax cuts — the United States has benefited from relatively competitive tax rates. But if Sen. Barack Obama’s tax plan becomes law, the IRS will become one of the most punitive tax men in the world. http://blog.heritage.org/2008/07/01/morning-bell-the-tax-man-cometh/ (Obama caricature by Cox & Forkum)
3
POPSConservatives At Odds With McCain But perhaps more importantly, he has long been an advocate of entitlement reform. He was early an ardent support of personal accounts for Social Security, and has pushed for serious Medicare reform, including means-testing. Almost alone among Republicans, he opposed the disastrous Medicare prescription drug benefit. "On domestic policy, he has shown a disturbing predilection for elevating every personal pet peeve, from steroids in baseball to airplane service quality, to a federal issue. And, he has embraced heavily regulatory environmental policies and compulsory national service. Like George W. Bush, he tends to support federal power over federalism, executive authority over legislative, and generally leans toward the imperial presidency. For believers in individual liberty and limited government, it's a decidedly mixed bag. But, then again, aren't they all?"
5
POPSInternal World Bank Study: Biofuel Caused Food Crisis The news comes at a critical point in the world's negotiations on biofuels policy. Leaders of the G8 industrialised countries meet next week in Hokkaido, Japan, where they will discuss the food crisis and come under intense lobbying from campaigners calling for a moratorium on the use of plant-derived fuels. It will also put pressure on the British government, which is due to release its own report on the impact of biofuels, the Gallagher Report. The Guardian has previously reported that the British study will state that plant fuels have played a "significant" part in pushing up food prices to record levels. Although it was expected last week, the report has still not been released. The leaked World Bank study disputes that: "Rapid income growth in developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large price increases."
4
POPSNew And Not Improved! New York Times the death penalty and gun control. Mr. Obama endorsed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the District of Columbia’s gun-control law. We knew he ascribed to the anti-gun-control groups’ misreading of the Constitution as implying an individual right to bear arms. But it was distressing to see him declare that the court provided a guide to “reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.” We were equally distressed by Mr. Obama’s criticism of the Supreme Court’s barring the death penalty for crimes that do not involve murder. Mr. Obama’s shifts are striking because he was the candidate who proposed to change the face of politics. We don’t want any “redefining” on these big questions. This country needs change it can believe in.
11
POPSAn American in Albania ...The Albanians of Montenegro were lucky, I thought as we approached the customs agents, to live under Josip Broz Tito's relatively lenient communist system in Yugoslavia instead of suffering Enver Hoxha's full-bore Stalinist regime just a few miles away in Albania proper. Hoxha, who ranks among the most thoroughly oppressive tyrants in history, made Tito's dictatorship look libertarian....
3
POPSStop The Pelosi Anti-Energy Package! The most common-sense energy solution in the short term is to increase domestic oil production in the United States by allowing more exploration and drilling. Currently, there is a Congressional moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that has been in place for 27 years. This moratorium translates into roughly 85% of the OCS that Congress has declared off-limits for oil exploration and drilling. It simply does not make sense for the United States to allow its domestic oil resources to sit unused and depend on other nations in unstable regions of the world for its energy needs.
2
POPSYou Can't Fool All of the People All of the Time Instead of Drill! Drill! Drill!, their motto could be: Kill! Kill! Kill! In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, "We can't drill our way out of this crisis." What does it mean? Finding more oil isn't going to increase the supply of oil? It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan. Their plan is: the permanent twilight of the human race. Liberals complain that -- as Obama put it -- there's "no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now. At best you are looking at five years or more down the road."This is as opposed to airplanes that run on woodchips, which should be up and running any moment now. Clinton proposed a 26-cent tax on gas. John Kerry said it should be 50 cents. Gore endorsed the Malthusian proposal of Paul and Anne Ehrlich in "The Population Explosion" hat taxes gas gradually
3
POPSHousing Bill Threatens Personal Privacy Email Petition The Senate is currently considering a $300 billion mortgage bailout for the riskiest borrowers and their banks. Recently, it was revealed that Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the primary architect of the compromise bill that ultimately ended up on the Senate floor, had received a special “VIP” loan from Countrywide Financial, which stands to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the bill. Unfortunately, the irresponsible economics and the VIP scandal are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the bad policy in the mortgage bailout. Hidden within the bill is a provision added by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) that would greatly expand the power of the Internal Revenue Service to monitor what Americans buy online. Sen. Grassley’s provision would require the nation’s electronic payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
4
POPSA Clear Majority Of Americans Want To Drill Here Al Gore, philanthropist, Climate activist, and winner of the Nobel Peace prize, is the single greatest advocate in the war against humanity. Millions of innocent lives, people whose only crime is being poor. We need to protect not only others wellbeing, but our own freedoms, our own rights. We need to defend ourselves from Eco-Terrorist ideas, perpetuated by cheap theatrics and scaremongering. We need to defend ourselves against Eco Evangelist Al Gore. Energy Independence: President Bush asks Congress to lift the 1981 drilling ban on offshore oil. The no-drill Democrats will call it flip-flopping. We call it change you can believe in. The Democratic response to Republican determination to end our dependence on foreign oil has been to call for more taxes on oil companies and to pressure, even sue, OPEC. A group of 10 Democratic senators on Tuesday called for Bush to file a complaint against OPEC. http://www.smartgreenusa.com/
3
POPSBush Calls Out the Dems Next was ANWR, which can be exploited with "virtually no impact on the land or local wildlife." Finally, refining capacity: It has been 30 years since a new refinery was built in our Nation, and lawsuits and red tape have made it extremely costly to expand or modify existing refineries. The result is that America now imports millions of barrels of fully refined gasoline from abroad. This imposes needless costs on American families and drivers. It deprives American workers of good jobs. Finally, Bush laid the problem once again at the Dems' door: I know Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act. Excellent stuff. We need to do this every single day.
4
POPSThree Broadcast Networks Earned A Big Fat Zero Former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke also benefited, as did one prominent Republican — former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson. Shalala and Holbrooke had left public office when they got their deals. But it was reasonable for Mozilo to think they'd serve again in another Democratic administration. And what, many wonder, was the quid pro quo for all this? Just a month ago, in unusually harsh language, Dodd ripped into President Bush on the subprime mess and defended a $400 billion plan that would bail out the subprime lending industry — including Mozilo. The Democrats' initial response has been to stall. They hope the problem will disappear until after the election. They need to investigate it fully, immediately and without prejudice — or risk having it blow up in their faces.
5
POPSUS Diplomacy On Iran Amid Reported Israeli Attack Exercise "I can certainly understand that, given the fact that the president of Iran has talked about wiping Israel off the map," he said. "So Israel does see Iran as an existential threat. But again, I am going to have to kick any questions about what was intended by this exercise, what its purpose was, what they hoped to accomplish, to the Israeli government. They're the competent officials to talk about those issues." Israel staged a long-range air strike to destroy an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1980, and last September it bombed a facility in northern Syria said by some analysts to have been a reactor being built with North Korean help. Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but Israel and key Bush administration officials, among others, believe it is seeking a weapons capability.
3
POPS President Bush Discusses Energy The problem is that Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s. Since then, advances in technology have made it possible to conduct oil exploration in the OCS that is out of sight, protects coral reefs and habitats, and protects against oil spills. With these advances -- and a dramatic increase in oil prices -- congressional restrictions on OCS exploration have become outdated and counterproductive. Republicans in Congress have proposed I call on the House and the Senate to pass good legislation as soon as possible. This legislation should give the states the option of opening up OCS resources off their shores, provide a way for the federal government and states to share new leasing revenues, and ensure that our environment is protected. There's also an executive prohibition on exploration in the OCS. When Congress lifts the legislative ban, I will lift the executive prohibition.
2
POPSBush To Press Congress On Offshore Oil Drilling Bush also will reiterate his call for development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Perino said. McCain has opposed drilling in the refuge, maintaining that the pristine areas in northeastern Alaska should be protected from energy development. On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. The Arizona senator said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and receive some of the royalty revenue. Bush has made clear in recent weeks that the drilling moratorium in coastal waters should end to allow for more domestic oil production and help "take the pressure off the price of gasoline." Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, opposes lifting the ban on offshore drilling and says that allowing exploration now wouldn't affect gasoline prices for at least five years.
3
POPS From “Green Conservatism” To Black Gold In his book, sounding like Al Gore, Gingrich maintains that “global climate change” is one of several “worldwide challenges.” Unlike Gore, he seems to reject any involvement by “international bureaucrats” in such a scheme. So-called “green conservatism” also surfaced in former Bush speechwriter David Frum’s book. Incredibly, however, Frum advocates a carbon tax as a winning conservative idea. This kind of doubletalk helps explain why the Republican Party is in disarray. Rather than advocate the production of more energy of all kinds, they have an incoherent message that looks insincere and hypocritical because they want to appear to be as “green” as the Democrats, It’s good that Gingrich now seems to have jettisoned this approach. “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” He should go further and recall copies of his books. We need an American Vaclav Klaus to lead the way back to freedom.
3
POPSAPNewsBreak: Oil Companies Get OK: NW Coast Of Alaska "The oil and gas industry in operating under the kind of rules they have operated under for 15 years has not been a threat to the species," H. Dale Hall, the Fish and Wildlife Service's director, told The Associated Press on Friday. "It was the ice melting and the habitat going away that was a threat to the species over everything else." "Polar bears are already protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has more stringent protections for polar bears than the Endangered Species Act does," Kempthorne said. Administration and industry officials said oil companies enjoyed similar status in the Chukchi Sea from 1991 to 1996 and in the Beaufort Sea since 1993 and there was no effect on polar bear populations. "These rules are essentially an insurance policy," said Marilyn Crockett, "They say if you conduct your operations in accordance to the requirement in this rule, you will not be held liable for the take of the bears."
4
POPSRon Paul Launches "Campaign For Liberty" In "The Libertarian Voter," David Boaz, Cato executive vice president and author of The Politics of Freedom, writes: "Recent polls suggest that 10 to 20 percent of Americans hold 'fiscally conservative, socially liberal' or libertarian views. Indeed, libertarians are a bigger share of the electorate than the much-discussed 'soccer moms,' and they are increasingly a swing vote.
3
POPSSaudis Pushing U.N. Démarche Against Israel The dispute over oil appears to be part of a larger rift between the two countries, with a London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi reporting recently that relations have reached their lowest point in years. The Saudis seek strong American backing against Iran," Mr. Gold, a former Israeli U.N. ambassador who has written extensively on the kingdom, said. "They don't want to hear from Condi Rice about diplomatic progress between Abbas and Israel. They want to know what America is doing about Iran." The Saudis, he said, base their policies on their strong alliance with America — or on Arab consensus. When the Israeli government earlier this month announced that it was planning to build nearly 900 new housing units in Jerusalem, ecretary-General Ban issued a strong statement: Israel's "continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory" violates international law and Israel's obligations under the road map and the Annapolis process.
2
POPSThe Decline Of The Senate Senator Specter, age 78 "The American people live under the illusion that we have a United States Senate. The facts show that the Senate is realistically dysfunctional. It is on life support, perhaps even moribund. The only facet of Senate bipartisanship is the conspiracy of successive Republican and Democratic leaders to employ this procedural device known as filling the tree. It is known that way to insiders, and it is incomprehensible to outsiders." The device was used last week when Reid called up the bill to control global warming, producing the state of futility that has haunted Reid's year and a half as majority leader. Characteristically, Reid neither found support to pass this bill nor attempted a compromise with opponents. Debating an energy tax as gasoline prices hit four dollars defied political logic. But Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Environment Committee, insisted. Reid bowed to her.
5
POPS Change "He Should Believe In" He would become a responsible voice within his party by challenging his constituents to embrace progress in Iraq. Using his considerable influence to rein in the reflexive and poisonous antiwar rhetoric that has become the Democratic party’s standard rallying cry against Republicans, he would seek to alleviate the bitter divisions that plague our country. Unfortunately, Sen. Obama has not been that kind of candidate. Instead, he has chosen the far easier path of exploiting the existing currents of public opinion for political gain. In his speeches, he downplays the gains achieved through the surge and dismisses as “spin” all evidence of progress, all the while repeating his call for a withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops within sixteen months of becoming president, no matter the conditions on the ground. Even worse, Sen. Obama’s rhetoric on the Iraq war is beginning to jeopardize his stated goal of repairing alliances that he claims are in tatters.
2
POPS The Party of Defeat: Unfit To Lead into supporting the war is itself the biggest lie of the war. The Democrats changed their views on the war for one reason and one reason alone: In June 2003, a far-left Democrat named Howard Dean was poised to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination by running on the claim that America was the bad guy in the war in Iraq, and he would get us out. That’s why in February 2002, a year before the war in Iraq, Al Gore was saying that “Iraq is a virulent threat in a class by itself” and that President Bush should “push the limit” to do what was necessary to deal with Saddam Hussein. But the most self-serving and deceptive of the lies told by the Democratic leadership is this: you can support the troops and not support the war. No you can’t. Such a party is unfit to lead this nation in war. To place it in a position to do so would be to invite a tragedy of epic proportions.
Newest Clips
see Newest Clips
4
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update