Hugh Hewitt: Commiecrat Meltdown!
Nicholas Byram
to appear sane and reasonable and having to appease their Commiecrat core
elements, which have taken over the party since the 1970's. The Demunist
Commiecrats are melting down, and the reasonable Democrats (Zell Miller of
GA is the only one who comes to mind at the moment), are breaking ranks.
*****
A debate worth having
By Hugh Hewitt
------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: September 27, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
What a week the Democrats have had:
Al Gore emerges in San Francisco to summon the peace caucus to his side (and
the City Council of Santa Cruz obliges the next day with a 6-0 vote
condemning the Bush push for war);
The Democratic governor of Kentucky is revealed as a cad and a con;
The Democratic senator from New Jersey dispatches Team Torricelli to the
federal court to keep documents secret that detail the disgraced incumbent's
ties to a federal prisoner;
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's campaign is forced to apologize for Nixonian
dirty tricks;
Zogby's numbers strike fear in the Wellstone camp – as well as many others;
Gov. "Clouseau" of California actually had to cancel a fundraiser because of
media interest in his many apparent conflicts of interest;
Democratic Congressmen McDermott and Kucinich are rallying the wingnuts to
the banner;
And the union heavies are demanding that they run the Homeland Security
Department.
Daschle tried to change the subject on Monday with a speech about the cost
of pills and other pressing matters, but nobody noticed. Gore had stepped on
him. And the Republican lead in fund-raising is enormous. So what did
Daschle do?
He had his "Muskie moment." In early 1972, then-candidate for president
Edmund Muskie stood outside the Manchester Union Leader and denounced the
paper's coverage of his wife. He broke down. His candidacy was over.
Daschle lost it as well yesterday – and he did it not because the president
had challenged anyone's patriotism, but because the president has repeatedly
challenged the Democrats to give national security issues the top priority.
The Democrats have refused, and in the context of the Homeland Security
bill, it is a politically devastating failure.
The most searing critic of Daschle and the Democrats has been Democratic
Sen. Zell Miller who thundered from the Senate floor after Daschle was
finished that the country was exposed and that the Senate risked the wrath
of all Americans if another attack struck in San Francisco, Louisiana or
Newport, R.I. Miller chose his hypothetical targets with care, for senators
from those three states were key in blocking the Homeland Security
department from emerging ready for the war on terrorism.
Daschle and the Democrats are fighting for the National Treasury Employees
Union, the Federal Personnel Manual, and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The Democrats want their within-grade step increases and their Federal
Employee Health Benefits brochures. In short, they want the standard deal
for federal employees which makes it practically impossible to fire
incompetents and to discipline malcontents.
They want hearings and appeals and seniority. The president doesn't care
about any of that. He's not against it in other contexts, but he thinks it
is patently ridiculous to be arguing about such matters when there are tens
of thousands of radicals who want nothing but an opening to kill hundreds of
thousands of Americans.
The president has the better argument, and he will carry the day if the
debate is carried to the people. Which is why Daschle attempted with his
tirade to intimidate the president and all those who question the Democrats'
priorities. Daschle is attempting to immunize his colleagues from questions
about their judgment by equating such questions with challenges to their
patriotism. I don't think it will work. In fact, I think it failed the
moment that Daschle drew attention to the underlying issue. Focus is the
last thing the Democrats needed on this issue.
Then there is Robert Byrd. He is out of control, and increasingly appears
around the bend. The Democrats are stuck with him, and even veteran
hand-holders like Joe Biden are increasingly exasperated by his cranky
outbursts. But there he was on Wednesday, shouting at the top of his lungs,
and embarrassing not only the Democrats but all Americans. Daschle is
Exhibit One in the fall campaign, but Byrd is surely Exhibit Two.
The campaign is now destined to be about large issues and serious arguments.
Republicans welcome such a debate. The Democrats fear it. And that explains
why the Democrats had such a bad week: The country does not suffer fools –
especially in times of war.
© 2002
whizbang
Sounds pretty good. The only thing I wonder about is that line about
firing incompetents and "disciplining malcontents." The so-called
"malcontents" are frequently the ones who see the incompetents and
stick their neck out to expose them. "Disciplining" such people is
typical of liberal bureaucracy. More often, they need to be promoted.
> This article really sums it up well. The Demunists are caught between having
> to appear sane and reasonable and having to appease their Commiecrat core
> elements, which have taken over the party since the 1970's. The Demunist
> Commiecrats are melting down, and the reasonable Democrats (Zell Miller of
> GA is the only one who comes to mind at the moment), are breaking ranks.
>
> *****
>
>
> A debate worth having
> By Hugh Hewitt
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Posted: September 27, 2002
> 1:00 a.m. Eastern
>
>
> What a week the Democrats have had:
>
>
> Al Gore emerges in San Francisco to summon the peace caucus to his side (and
> the City Council of Santa Cruz obliges the next day with a 6-0 vote
> condemning the Bush push for war);
>
> The Democratic governor of Kentucky is revealed as a cad and a con;
>
> The Democratic senator from New Jersey dispatches Team Torricelli to the
> federal court to keep documents secret that detail the disgraced incumbent's
> ties to a federal prisoner;
>
> Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's campaign is forced to apologize for Nixonian
> dirty tricks;
>
> Zogby's numbers strike fear in the Wellstone camp – as well as many others;
>
> Gov. "Clouseau" of California actually had to cancel a fundraiser because of
> media interest in his many apparent conflicts of interest;
>
> Democratic Congressmen McDermott and Kucinich are rallying the wingnuts to
> the banner;
>
> And the union heavies are demanding that they run the Homeland Security
> Department.
> Daschle tried to change the subject on Monday with a speech about the cost
> of pills and other pressing matters, but nobody noticed. Gore had stepped on
> him. And the Republican lead in fund-raising is enormous. So what did
> Daschle do?
>
> He had his "Muskie moment." In early 1972, then-candidate for president
> Edmund Muskie stood outside the Manchester Union Leader and denounced the
> paper's coverage of his wife. He broke down. His candidacy was over.
>
> Daschle lost it as well yesterday – and he did it not because the president
> why the Democrats had such a bad week: The country does not suffer fools –