Food for thought on Feingold and Political Theater

[BurtWorm]

Not saying Kevin Drum is right or wrong. Just putting it on the table:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_03/008426.php

FEINGOLD'S CENSURE MOTION....Everyone wants to know how I feel about Russ Feingold's motion to censure President Bush over the NSA's domestic spying program. I'll give you two and a half answers:

First, substantively: Sure, censure away. God knows Bush deserves it.


Second, politically: I'm not so sure on this score. Anytime a congressman introduces a measure that's certain to fail, it's done for reasons of political theater: to make a point, to get some attention for an issue that's being ignored, or to reach out to some constituency or other. So the relevant question is: is this good political theater?

For example, when Harry Reid shut down the Senate last year to protest the slow progress of the investigation into prewar intelligence, that was good theater. He highlighted something that the press had been ignoring, he worked Bill Frist into a practically incoherent rage, and he embarrassed Pat Roberts into (sort of) promising to speed things up. All in all, a good day's work for the minority party.

Conversely, it's not clear what Feingold hopes to accomplish with his censure motion. Bush's shortcomings are already getting plenty of attention, so he's not galvanizing any new media attention. He obviously didn't bother telling his fellow Democrats about his plan, which has had the result of making the party look muddled and stupid. And Republicans, far from being nonplussed by his censure motion, are having a field day with it.

Political theater has its own rules, and fair or not, the only measure of success is success. So while I'd vote for Feingold's motion, I don't think I'd hire him as a political theater consultant.

[leftstreet]

1. ROFL "Everyone wants to know how I feel "

Can we say Journalistic Theater?

[BurtWorm]

2. He's probably referring to the "everyone" who reads his blog.

It's kind of standard verbiage.

[Trevelyan]

3. People are dying and suffering now. Including our misused soldiers. Even

the Pentagon is quoted in the MSM every few months that bush is breaking the best fighting force in the world.

Halliburton Brown and Root is not only building Concentration Camps on the Mainland USA but HBR recently opened another section they built of Gitmo and will unveil their next section of Gitmo in the summer with space for 500 more innocent prisoners to be used to train Bush's Gestapo. The Bush Regime has been challenging the world to stop them and taunting that no one in the world has the power to stop him. This runaway train is picking up speed. Drum and the others criticizing Feingold are in denial and we are about to go over the cliff.

This is no time for political niceties.

When the theater is on fire someone damned well better start yelling "FIRE!!!" That is what Feingold has been the only one with courage in the Senate to start yelling warnings. This is serious and must be addressed now. The political theater is the phony elections.

===
We have to face the truth.

America must face the truth of what the neoCON republicans have done in the name of America.

I can hear them over at free rethuglic
USA USA USA!
Support The Troops!

"20 images of a soldier with a Swastika drawn between his eyes"

=These Troops are like Charles Manson
SCUM OF THE EARTH.

THEY ARE WAR CRIMINALS.

LIKE THE NAZIS

===The photos are horrific enough - God help us when video w/sound gets out.
The the events that Seymour Hersh spoke of well over a year ago will become believable to a doubtful America.

Maybe THEN Bush can be held responsible and tried for WAR CRIMES along with
Gonzo and his other pals.

=== Brace yourselves, folks... The worst is still yet to come

[BurtWorm]

5. Don't forget who the real war criminals are.

Someone created the conditions for Abu Ghraib, and it wasn't Graner and English.

[jane_pippin]

4. Well it's a good thing Russ wants to be a Senator and not a political

theater consultant, in that case. :D

[KoKo]

6. Remember when Murtha came out about Iraq? Remember all the

centrists Dems who were horrified that it would hurt Dems who were running away from suggesting a "timetable" for withdrawal.

Murtha had courage and he's won....the Repugs even are taking his line...

Kevin Drum is always cautious about everything. I find him annoying that way...but many people enjoy reading him.

[BurtWorm]

7. Corn is being his usual cautious self as well.

I can understand why people find this caution irritating. On the other hand, Drum does make an interesting point when he contrasts the effect of Reid's surprise shutdown of the Senate and of Feingold's resolution. One unfortunate result of Feingold's move was to make Democrats angrier, for the moment, with the party's leadership than with the object of the censure. Granted, the leadership deserves anger for sitting down and rolling over for the past six years, but was that Feingold's intent? Or was his intent to put Bush and the Republicans on the hot seat where THEY belong?