I predicted this a while back.
ABC News: Lobbying Reform Losing Steam in House"What? You actually EXPECT us to keep our promises?"House Democrats are suddenly balking at the tough lobbying reforms they touted to voters last fall as a reason for putting them in charge of Congress.
Now that they are running things, many Democrats want to keep the big campaign donations and lavish parties that lobbyists put together for them. They're also having second thoughts about having to wait an extra year before they can become high-paid lobbyists themselves should they retire or be defeated at the polls.
Well, no. The Democratic party, after all, has a great deal at stake in the status quo. You balance things - a problem (or percieved problem) against a voter block that thinks you should solve it. Promise to solve the problem and you've got that block locked down. But if you DO solve it, that block will no longer be indebted to you, and may well vote against you on other issues.
So it's best to string them along as long as possible, depending on the forgetfulness of the average voter.
But the Democrats made a REAL big deal this last election out of lobbying and ethics reforms. It's kind of hard to go "Ah, well, we didn't mean it..." and then expect to be taken seriously in the next election.
But, like Jason said - "Mostly my party runs around like chickens with their heads cut off." I guess it's okay then to not expect much from headless chickens.
J.
Comments (3)
What I find humorous, if in a grim sort of way, are those purporting that if the Democrats *win* the Presidency that they will then be in 'control' and need to 'get real' about things. The last three times that happened points to what we can expect of it today, and I am *not* amused by that concept. The Democratic party is becoming Anti-Nationalist outright, which means not only against this Nation but against the idea *of* Sovereign Nations. They prefer to micromanage *everything* and that comes to no good end at all for the targets of such 'management'. Each of those three has put more Big Government on the table, removed the ability of the Nation to defend itself and generally acted in ways destructive to the Union.
Expecting the children to act like adults when the tractor-trailer of cookies has pulled up to the front door is amazing, to me. It hasn't happened in recent memory. And this sorry bunch upon the Hill is no better than the Congress just passed and, in many ways, far worse. Luckily their slackluster capabilities may make the previous 'do nothing' Congress seem like a vibrant hub of activity and outlook.
Posted by ajacksonian | May 13, 2007 8:22 AM
Posted on May 13, 2007 08:22
The time for them to 'get real' was on 12 Sep 01 - and for a while it looked like they actually would... but then habit and custom took over, and they backtracked real damn fast.
And they're backtracking on their ethics promises? Wow. What a surprise. As you said - they're kids with a semi-trailer full of cookies. Eat till you puke, then eat some more...
J.
Posted by JLawson | May 14, 2007 9:08 AM
Posted on May 14, 2007 09:08
J - That is why I am amazed that *anyone* would put forth that the Democrats would 'suddenly come around' by being in the WH and having Congressional majorities. They aren't in a 9/10 world, but in some lovely 1968 haze where deriding the Nation, giving away money, not doing a thing to actual counter National threats and *supporting* our enemies, be they communist tyrants in Vietnam or Secular tyrants in Syria or Islamic Radicalists like the Muslim Brotherhood reminds me of 1938. We have Nancy Chamberlain to lead the Democrats! Neville Reid to help from the Senate!
We are 'creating terrorists'... like the man who killed CIA employees in their cars waiting to go to work in 1993? Or the group that took out six floors of steel reinforced concrete in the basement of the WTC that year? Or those lovely African Embassy bombings? How about the multiple bombings in Beirut of our embassy and marines back in 1983-84 to help a *peace keeping mission*? The Khobar Towers bombing? The USS Cole bombing? How about the attempted assassination of President Clinton by FARC? How about those lovely 'Red' groups killing US servicemen from the 1970's onwards, did we create them? Tupac Ameru, did we encourage them to attack the Embassy, personnel and staff of ours? Abu Nidal, did we create him? Or Carlos the Jackal?
Hurts when I can dig back to Nixon and further on this... both parties are at blame but only ONE wants to run and hide its head, while the other just keeps on putting its fanny up to get spanked. Those policies of the 20th century *failed* and left us with things they could not address nor describe nor cure. It would help if one party would get out of its drug haze of 1968. It would help if the other didn't think allowing unaccountable trade to those that want and *have* killed us is a 'good idea and frees them'.
Democrats wish to run in *fear*.
Republicans are walking around like Mr. Magoo, but the script ran out sometime in the 1970's and there are folks trying to push us *into* danger and paying them off does not work.
The infrastructure to attack the US is already *here*. The funds going into Iraq by terrorist organizations is not allowing them to expand operations, while we take less than 4% of our growing economy to address that... and our economy grows faster than their money supply is depleted. Strange to say this is such a burden on the economy... compared to *what*? That young Americans are dying in Iraq... as compared to young American drug pushers dying at a rate that is 7 times worse than enrolling in the Armed Forces? For less pay? Excuse me?
I would prefer that these splendid two parties actually did not look to stop fighting our enemies, invite them into the Nation and then provide them with cheap arms to attack us. Really! I would like that, a lot. It starts with *not* surrendering.
But then I happen to like my freedoms and liberties which I put forth to uphold my responsibilities under the Constitution. We now have zero parties that do that. And that bodes ill for the Nation.
Posted by ajacksonian | May 14, 2007 11:00 AM
Posted on May 14, 2007 11:00