Category: The Dubya Era

Suspicion Breeds Confidence.

With full control of Congress, the President declares homeland security his top priority, and will move on the Senate-stymied bill to create the Department of Homeland Security during the lame-duck session. Mmm, security…sounds doubleplussgood. So do I have to get my bar code on the side of my head like 12 Monkeys, or can I put it on the back of my neck or something?

After the Deluge.

As the Dems lick their wounds and begin contemplating their post-Gephardt future, the GOP prepares to implement Dubya’s wish list. A Contract on America? It looks like we’ll find out as soon as next week, in the “lame duck” session of the 107th Congress.

Slinking out the Back Door.

Oh, and by the way, Harvey Pitt resigned yesterday, right after the polls had closed in the East. After all, we wouldn’t want to remind anyone of how thick the corporate corruption surrounding Dubya and his minions runs until after the election now, would we? As it turns out, the GOP-controlled Congress probably won’t look into SEC malfeasance anymore anyway.

Reaping the Whirlwind.

Suddenly, items that had been bottled up in the Democratic Senate have new life. President Bush has new hopes for action on his conservative slate of judges, his energy plan calling for drilling in Alaska’s wildlife refuge, and the policies he favors on topics such as homeland security, terrorism insurance and prescription drug coverage. With Democrats losing their ability to set the Senate schedule and launch probes of the administration, chances improve for Bush’s hopes to extend last year’s tax cuts, curtail jury awards, cut business regulations and overhaul Medicare. Welcome to the new national order.

If there’s any silver lining to this nightmare, it’s that the Dems may finally be forced to do the extensive soul-searching they should have started two years ago. What does the party stand for? What does it stand against? Where do we go from here? What does it say about the party that the the reform candidate everybody got excited about two years ago was a Republican? All these questions are now begging for answers. As many other pundits are noting this bleak morning (and before), it’s time to clean house. New leadership is needed, but where will it come from? Remember, in 1990, nobody really saw Clinton coming…let’s hope history repeats itself before Dubya irrevocably screws up the judiciary, the economy, the environment, and, of course, the fate of the world. Update: Gephardt’s done…whomever replaces him will make for an interesting start to Democratic reconstruction.

Woo boy.

Oh, man…it’s ugly. You know it’s a bad election night when the highlight is seeing Carville wear a trash can on his head. I guess we Dems should’ve expected this the minute most of the party capitulated to Dubya’s wag-the-dog Iraq vote. If you don’t give the American people a choice, they won’t make one. Sigh…

Fight to the Finish.

On the day before the big show, many of the wonks predict Republican gains in the House. But, on the brighter side for the Dems, it’s looking like Erskine Bowles has an outside chance of stealing Jesse Helms’ seat from Liddy Dole.

Same as it ever was.

The Washington Post predicts the status quo will prevail on Tuesday, with the GOP keeping the House and the Dems holding the Senate. Hmmm…ok. I suspect had 9-11 not occurred, we’d be looking at a 1994-like landslide against Dubya and for the Dems. But if holding the line is the best we can hope for right now, so be it.