David Online

The Democrats appear to be thrilled that the American voting public has sent President George Bush and the neo-cons to the woodshed. After six years of cursing and calling Bush every contemptible name in the book, the Dems believe they finally got their message out. Sorry, people, but that dog don’t hunt. The Democrat “landslide” of taking control of both houses of Congress was not a vote of confidence for the undefined agenda and a “change of direction” of the Democratic Party as it was a rejection of Bush, the war in Iraq, and the spending habits of the Republican Party.

After the election, Senator Hillary Clinton said, “We have made a statement here tonight.” I beg to disagree, Senator. The only statement made here tonight was the Democrats ran a successful campaign portraying the Republicans as “the culture of corruption” and George Bush as the reincarnation of Hitler. American did not vote because they were enthralled with the vague policies of the Democratic Party but because they were disappointed with the policies of the Republican Party.

Now would be a good time to take stock of the state of the economy. According to exit polls, some 48% percent of American voters believed that the economy under George Bush was a failure.  

In six years, the George Bush economic policy has lowered unemployment to 4.4%, lower than the average of any unemployment rate in the past 20 years, including that of the Bill Clinton years. Five years ago the deficit stood at 4 trillion dollars. Bush promised to cut it in half by 2008. By 2006, this year, the deficit had been cut in half – two years earlier than projected. The deficit is 1.1% of the Gross National Product – lower than that of any President including Bill Clinton.

  Someone, obviously not a George Bush fan, said that this economy under Bush and company was a house of cards and ready to collapse at any minute. I’m guessing that would be like the Bill Clinton economy which was built under the dot.com madness in which start-up company stocks were selling for $300 a share for companies that had yet to earn a dollar.

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but this is the first time in the last three elections that the Democrats have not filed lawsuits on voting irregularities. The Democrats actually won this time. Apparently all the “Republican owned” Diebold voting machines worked properly. The African-American vote was not suppressed, Ohio voters were not disenfranchised, and the Florida chad count was a nonentity.

In a late night speech on the day America voted, November 7, 2006, incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Peolosi (D – Calif) said “The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest , most open, and most ethical Congress in history…”

Before I had finished choking on my biscuit, incoming Speaker Pelosi announced her favored choice and full support for Rep. John Murtha (D – Pa) to be her House Majority Leader. So Democrat Pelosi’s first action to lead  the “most ethical Congress in history” was to annoint a co-conspirator snared in the Abscam probe in 1980. When the bribe was dangled before his eyes in 1980, Murtha responded by saying, “I’m not interested – at this point. You know, we do business for a while maybe I’ll be interested, maybe I won’t, you know.”

Now Pelosi has made know her intentions to force ranking Democratic committee member, Rep. Jane Harman (D – Calif) to step aside so that Pelosi may appoint Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida to chair the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. This is the committee whose oversight covers the CIA, the FBI, and the Departments of Defense, Energy, Justice, State, and Homeland Security. Readers may recall that former Judge Alcee Hastings was  impeached by the House for bribery from two racketeers and was subsequently convicted and removed from office by the United States Senate in 1987. Rep. Hastings shares the dishonor of impeachment with only six other Federal judges impeached since this country’s founding in 1787. 

Fortunately, Pelosi’s bid to seat Murtha as the Majority Leader failed by a vote of 149 – 86. This was a big loss for incoming Speaker Pelosi. With Pelosi’s support now thrown to Alcee Hastings for the Intelligence committee and the removal of Rep. Jane Harmon who has been on the Intelligence committee since 2002 – over four years, even Democrats are beginning to question her wisdom.

Which brings us to another point. The probable Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in her campaign that within the first 100 hours of her leadership, she would implement all of the 9/11 commission recommendations. One of the commission’s recommendations was that members of the House and Senate committee’s for Homeland Security oversight should be of permanent standing with a non-partisan staff. Rep. Harmon’s four-year position in the House Select Committee on Intelligence and Homeland Security may not be so “permanent” after all. 

What else will Pelosi renege or backtrack on?