WP: Little Opposition From Party of 'Obstruction'

[Pirate Smile]

Little Opposition From Party of 'Obstruction'

By Terry M. Neal
Washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, June 20, 2005; 12:01 AM

-snip-
The president is suffering a case of the political blues right now. His agenda on major items such as Social Security, the energy bill, CAFTA (a proposed trade agreement with Central America) and John Bolton's nomination appears to be going nowhere fast. His plan to pack the courts with conservatives was compromised by members of his own party. And his handling of the war in Iraq is increasingly under attack.

-snip-
The truth is, while Democrats are now offering more vocal opposition to the president than they were in most of Bush's first term, their success in foiling Bush's second-term agenda has come only because Republicans have joined them.

"President Bush's status as a political lame duck is becoming clearer every day," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in a statement on Thursday in response to a Washington Post story about opposition to the president's Social Security plan among Republicans. "His scheme for Social Security is not only being rejected by voters, but also by congressional Republicans worried about paying a political price at the ballot box in 2006."

-snip-
Second terms are always difficult. Bush will never run for president again; and even if it's early in his second term, the party is already anticipating a future without him. Compounding that historical difficulty are Bush's tumbling approval ratings. Bush's approval rating is far lower than any other second-term president at this stage in his term. While Bush remains popular with conservatives, his support among moderates and independents has tumbled. That means many members of Congress who represent either moderate districts or states have little to fear by straying off the partisan plantation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061700957.html

[cry baby]

1. WaPo sure is slamming dems lately.

[merwin]

5. This wasn't at all anti-dem. This was saying that bush is losing because

his own party is deserting him.

[rodeodance]

8. that is the point--they hand dems just a crumb-and give Repugs the whole

loaf of bread--on this issue.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

10. They CERTAINLY have been Anti-Dem in their choice of article titles.

Party of "Obstruction"??? Who titles their articles? The head of the RNC??

The Washington Post died the day Katherine Graham passed away. Now, it's just another corporate shill rag excusing any and all with the reins of power. Sad...

JB

[merwin]

11. The title seems more sarcastic to me.

Notice the use of quotes.
Little Opposition From Party of 'Obstruction'

That immediately said to me that the so called obstructionist party isn't doing any obstructing at all. Fact is, dems have been refered to numerous times lately as a prty of obstruction, and this is just debunking it.

[sandnsea]

24. Shows real effort

How far out of their way did the writer have to go to turn a successful campaign against Bush into more of the same from the lily-livered Democrats. We can't even be a good obstruction party, according to this article. Aren't we just pathetic? :eyes:

[FredStembottom]

28. Right. Quotations mean everything.......

This is a not a Dem-slam. The quotes mark the word "obstruction" as Bush's word. The rest of the article points up the irony of his using that word when it applies more to his own party. They control everything and yet, they obstruct him.

Life is increasingly good!:party:

[UpInArms]

18. agreed

:toast:

[DemoTex]

17. And that desertion is EXTREMELY important!

The truth is, while Democrats are now offering more vocal opposition to the president than they were in most of Bush's first term, their success in foiling Bush's second-term agenda has come only because Republicans have joined them.

It is a matter of numbers. What we Dems lack in numbers is being made up for by disgruntled, disenchanted, fed-up Repubs. Until we have the numbers (2006?), welcome defectors with opened arms. However, beware of the double-cross.

[sandnsea]

23. And WHY is that?

Because of the very effective Democratic attack on Bush, that's why. Do you think the people just turned against privatization all on their own?

The article is just another case of trashing Dems, it's amazing how easy it is to mold people's minds.

[rodeodance]

7. you are right---saying it is the Repugs that are most to blame for Jr's

demise--they give Dems a little crumb.

......The truth is, while Democrats are now offering more vocal opposition to the president than they were in most of Bush's first term, their success in foiling Bush's second-term agenda has come only because Republicans have joined them.

[rodeodance]

9. and the headline is not good either!!!!

[cry baby]

20. I think this is a way of marginalizing the Dems.

Making them seem insignificant by saying they can't affect *'s popularity by being an opposition party alone, that they need repubs.

I agree with you, I think we've done pretty well, with a few exceptions, in being a vocal opposition party.

[Erika]

2. Bush has hurt this country more than any prior president

He's helped the wealthy while decimating the middle class. He's thrown our kids into a war without cause. His legacy will be one of shame.

[mcctatas]

3. But Scott McClellan said it's all the dem's fault...

He wouldn't dream of lying to the American people!:sarcasm:

[rodeodance]

4. "Bush's status as a political lame duck is becoming clearer every day_

good one from Dean.

[Erika]

6. Scott is seen as a mini Rush

He's a puppet.

[rodeodance]

12. "Democrats Looking for a Road Map to Downing Street"--another article

by him.. um.... I do not think he grows on me.!!


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/14/AR2005061400563.html

Democrats Looking for a Road Map to Downing Street

By Terry M. Neal
Washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 14, 2005; 10:26 AM

Democrats this week are escalating their efforts to highlight the so-called "Downing Street Memo."............

Nonetheless, some Democrats won't rest until the truth -- at least as they see it -- is told.

The liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas pointed last week to Bush's slipping poll numbers and asked: "NOW can Democrats demand some accountability from Bush?"

An anonymous Daily Kos reader responded: "let's hope. kick him while he's down. sounds good to me."

John Kerry, is that you?

[rodeodance]

13. I am trying to find an email address for him--anyone find one?

[rodeodance]

14. self delete --sorry, it duped on me.

[rodeodance]

15. he says the DSM's are not a smoking gun.

from his 'roadmap' article above:

.......There is much to fault in both the right's and the left's interpretation of the memo. First, the memo is not the smoking gun that some liberal politicos and bloggers see. No matter what Richard Dearlove said in the memo about fixing the facts, it was still merely one man's analysis of the situation. At the same time, Dearlove is a credible source who was, essentially, the British equivalent of former CIA director George Tenet. It doesn't have to be a smoking gun for it to be an important document. The document should not be ignored simply because it does not answer every question. The Downing Street Memo is a starting place, not an ending place.........

[Arugula Latte]

26. It's not a smoking gun

because the corporate media has done everything possible to dunk it in water to douse the smoke.

[Supersedeas]

16. little FEAR of straying off the *'s partisan PLANTATION

[Justice]

19. Isn't it bipartisanship?

"The truth is, while Democrats are now offering more vocal opposition to the president than they were in most of Bush's first term, their success in foiling Bush's second-term agenda has come only because Republicans have joined them."

Is that what republicans would call bipartisanship?


And another thing - if the UK equivalent of our CIA directors says the intelligence is being fixed around the policy - isn't that HUGE? The man responsible for gathering intelligence is saying that the intelligence is being fixed.

[go west young man]

21. I'll tell you why Bush is marginalized because

Washington Post sucks at its job.

Election fraud, letting Jeff Gannon in WH press briefings, paying reporters off (Armstrong williams), Right wing religious lunacy (Terri Schiavo), a shitty war, No Osama, Afghanistan is the opium capital of the world, Oil for Food corruption by Bayoil made thier U.N. witch hunt fall apart, South and Central America has rejected them, they are oil men who can do nothing about gas prices, Galloway stumped Colemans ass all over the world, Delay the roach has been exposed to daylight, Deficits, pissing on the Koran, rendition of suspected terrorists, going around the Geneva convention, ignoring global warming, pardoning Arthur Anderson, siding with the cigarette companies, keeping the minimum wage at a minimum, shunning Canada, France, Germany, the U.N. and anyone else they couldn't buy off, trying to kill Chavez and refusing to extradite a terrorist to stand trial, Guantanamo detainees held indefinently, shunning amnesty international, Prison abuse in Iraq,killing an Italian agent who was rescuing a journalist, rewritting house rules to protect themselves, infiltrating NPR and PBS, shutting down Patriot act hearings, midnite vote sessions,tax breaks for the wealthy, military shortfalls due to an unneccessary war, gay republicans being outed, right wing serial killer in the heart of America, Eric Rudolph doesn't get labelled a terrorist by right wing press. It all adds up to one thing. Republicans suck! And dem bloggers and many democratic leaders have spoken out on these issues. The Washington Post just chooses not to pay attention

[Arugula Latte]

27. Good list. And it can go on and on ...

... and on and on...rigging voting machines, fixing scientific data, buying off columnists, browbeating the press, staging fake photo-ops, questioning the patriotism of everyone who doesn't believe in their brand of fascism, smearing Kerry with lies, not funding stem cell research, naming bills the opposite of what they really are: "Patriot Act," "Clear Skies," condoning torture, pushing blatantly false war propaganda (private Lynch, Pat Tillman), attempting to choke off Social Security, not attending the funerals of dead soldiers, not providing protective gear for soldiers in Iraq, cutting veterans' funding, not enforcing environmental laws, pushing through radical right-wing nominees ... and on and on and on ...

[calimary]

22. Okay, guys, at the risk of sounding like a truly obnoxious nag...

PLEASE consider the following passage from this article:

"The truth is, while Democrats are now offering more vocal opposition to the president than they were in most of Bush's first term, their success in foiling Bush's second-term agenda has come only because Republicans have joined them."

For all those who fear something as ambitious as IMPEACHMENT is impossible because the GOP owns everything... please read that passage again.

It CAN happen. It HAS happened (this same dynamic is what brought Nixon down - it happened when the Republicans finally convinced one of their own that his survival was not possible). It is happening NOW (on the myriad issues listed in this article, for example). AND IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN.

[frictionlessO]

25. Yep and further more its about the ONLY way that it CAN happen!!

The poison of truth is starting to take effect against the disease of lies... they make serums from poison ya know!