July 17, 2007
Jul 17 02:28 CREW Is Non-Partisan??? Jul 17 05:57 CREW's Handiwork Jul 17 10:33 AQI Running Out Of 'Home Turf' Jul 17 11:32 Wrecking CREW Jul 17 14:35 Thompson Entering Race Soon Jul 17 15:05 Sea Change In Iraq Detected Jul 17 18:43 Harry Reid Finally Fighting Smart??? Jul 17 23:04 "I Can't Believe He Vetoed the Tax Bill"
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Prior Years: 2006
CREW Is Non-Partisan???
According to this Strib article, that's the direct quote from Melanie Sloan, the executive director of CREW. That's the most laughable thing I've heard in ages. First, let's talk about why the Strib is interviewing Ms. Sloan:
A Washington-based government-watchdog organization filed a federal complaint Monday against the Minnesota Republican Party and its former treasurer alleging "multiple, egregious violations" of campaign reporting laws and regulations.That article's timing is suspect at best:
The complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) will compel the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the nonprofit group.
CREW's complaint was based on a confidential memorandum written in February to the state party's executive committee by its former finance director, Dwight Tostenson. The memo was made public by the Star Tribune on June 3.
Carey, who's running for reelection this week as party chairman, blamed the leak of Tostenson's memo on political enemies within the Republican Party who are out to get him on the eve of the Republican state central committee meeting.Here's a portion of the MNGOP memo as posted on Residual Forces:
Monday, Jun 4, 2007I strongly recommend that you read Andy's post in its entirety. Now let's return to today's Strib article. Here's what the Strib said about CREW's 'nonpartisan nature':
Dear Republican,
As Congressional District Chairs and members of the State Executive Committee, we were greatly disappointed by yesterday's article which appeared in the Star Tribune. In tone, substance and through the omission of key facts, the article failed readers in several important ways.
Most notably, the article left out many important facts and did not accurately portray the circumstances involved in a series of internal complaints. The story focused on months-old complaints about issues that had either been long resolved or were completely unfounded.
Given our knowledge of these issues, we can assure you that the Republican Party of Minnesota has dealt with these matters swiftly and effectively and with great transparency.
While it's hardly surprising that the liberal Star Tribune would omit important facts, it is unfair that activists be left with only half-truths and innuendo to fully evaluate the Republican Party of Minnesota's operations. As members of the governing body of our Party, we would like to provide you with the full story.
We've attached a point-by-point summary refuting and explaining each charge leveled against our Party. Further, we've attached a memorandum from Dwight Tostensen, which he issued in March of 2007, expressing confidence in Chairman Carey's leadership in handling his complaints.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us, or call the State Party Headquarters at 651-222-0022.
Sincerely,
Sloan acknowledged appearing on Franken's show before it went off the air. But she said CREW is a nonpartisan organization founded in 2003, which has filed complaints against both Republicans and Democrats, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa, and William Jefferson, D-La.That's a steaming load of cow manure. It's utterly laughable. It's true that they cited Rep. Murtha and Rep. 'Cold Cash' Jefferson. But they aren't telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on it. Let's first talk about Ms. Sloan's day job. These days, she's representing Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilson:
Melanie Sloan, legal counsel to Joe and Valerie Wilson in their civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Richard Armitage, released the following statement today in response to President Bush's decision to commute Mr. Libby's sentence.Unfortunately, that sounds like Washington's definition of nonpartisan to me. Let's not stop there, though. Ms. Sloan said that they cited Democrats and Republicans alike. This list says otherwise:
"First, President Bush said any person who leaked would no longer work in his administration. Nonetheless, Scooter Libby didn't leave office until he was indicted and Karl Rove works in the White House even today. More recently, the vice president ignored an executive order protecting classified information, claiming he isn't really part of the executive branch. Clearly, this is an administration that believes leaking classified information for political ends is justified and that the law is what applies to other people."
CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress:My Minnesota math says that 4 Democrats are listed compared with 21 Republicans. Note, too, that Murtha just made the "Members to Watch" list. The others listed were "Cold Cash" Jefferson, who will soon be convicted of accepting bribes. According to this Washington Post article, Allan Mollohan "set up a network of nonprofit organizations to administer the millions of dollars he directed to such public endeavors as high-tech research and historic preservation." During that time, his personal wealth grew substantially:
Members of the Senate:
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Bill Frist (R-TN)
Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Members of the House:
Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Richard Pombo (R-CA)
John Doolittle (R-CA)
Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Katherine Harris (R-FL)
John Sweeney (R-NY)
William Jefferson (D-LA)
Charles Taylor (R-NC)
Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Gary Miller (R-CA)
Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Five Members to Watch:
Chris Cannon (R-UT)
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
John Murtha (D-PA)
Don Sherwood (R-PA)
From 2000 to 2004, his assets grew from no more than $565,000 to at least $6.3 million. The partners in his rapidly expanding real estate empire included the head of one of these nonprofit groups and the owner of a local company for which he arranged substantial federal aid.The other Democrat named was Maxine Waters.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. Get comfy because we're gonna be here awhile. Here's what Discover the Networks says about CREW:
The "social change" sought by CREW is the transformation of America into a nation that more fully embraces leftist values and policies. Toward this end, CREW strives to discredit conservatives and Republicans it deems vulnerable to attack, with the objective of decreasing their numbers in political offices nationwide. Thus the overwhelming majority of the public officials targeted by CREW are Republicans. In September 2006, the organization issued a 241-page report, titled "Beyond [Tom] Delay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress", which named 17 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The report further listed 5 "Dishonorable Mentions", 4 Republicans and 1 Democrat. A similar disproportion has marked the political contributions made by CREW's Board members and staffers in recent years. Between 1995 and 2004, those individuals contributed $125,245 to Democrats and $16,013 to Republicans.That's just the tip of the iceberg:
CREW was founded by Democrat activists Norm Eisen (an attorney) and Louis Mayberg (a prominent Democrat donor, and co-founder of the Maryland-based mutual fund management firm ProFund Advisors LLC). CREW's "Form 990" IRS filing for 2001 lists Mayberg as one of its three Founding Directors; the other two are Daniel Berger (a high-profile Democrat donor who in 2004 made a $100,000 contribution to America Coming Together) and Mark Penn (a fellow at the New Politics Institute, and a top Democrat strategist and pollster who not only played a key role in Bill Clinton 's 1996 presidential campaign, but also served as head of "message and strategy" for Hillary Clinton 's 2000 Senate campaign).Let's briefly summarize:
- CREW was created in 2001.
- The three people listed as co-founders are bigtime Democratic activists and/or operatives, including people that worked on Bill Clinton's 1996 presidential campaign and Hillary's 2000 senatorial campaign.
- CREW's aim is to defeat as many Republicans as possible, going so far as targeting specific incumbents.
CREW has received financial backing from George Soros 's Open Society Institute, Democracy Alliance, the Tides Foundation, the Streisand Foundation, the Arca Foundation, the David Geffen Foundation, the Wallace Global Fund, the Mayberg Family Charitable Foundation, the Woodbury Fund, and the Sheller Family Foundation, all institutions distinguished by their support for far-left causes.We're supposed to believe that a group that's heavily funded by George Soros, Barbra Streisand, David Geffen and the Tides Foundation is nonpartisan? That's insulting. We're supposed to believe that a group whose founding director also started ACT, the Democrat voter fraud operation, is nonpartisan? Here's part of ACT's voter fraud operation exposed:
In Minnesota the Bush campaign has come into the possession of the following email from ACT to its Minnesota volunteers:Here's what Powerline's Scott Johnson's explanation of voting requirements in Minnesota:Election Day is upon us. You are confirmed to volunteer with ACT (America Coming Together - http://www.actforvictory.org/) on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 2.
We will be creating name badges that include your Ward and Precinct information for each of the thousands of volunteers that day to make it easier to find a volunteer to vouch for a voter at the polls.
I am emailing you to request your street address, city and zip code. We've already got your other contact information, but your record in our database does not include this information.
You can save us time on election day by replying today to this email with this information, or give us a call at [phone number with St. Paul area code].
In order to get your badge correct, please reply by Thursday.
Thank you for your help and cooperation. See you on Election Day!
Under Minnesota's registration law, an eligible but previously unregistered individual may register to vote in his precinct by showing proof of residence in the precinct or, in the absence of such proof, having a voter registered in the precinct vouch under oath that he personally knows that the unregistered individual is a resident of the precinct.This intercepted email provides contact information for people coming in from other states to vote illegally. That's CREW's definition of nonpartisan? Give me a break.
I hope you aren't getting restless yet. We've got more information on Ms. Sloan:
CREW's Executive Director is Melanie Sloan, a longtime Democrat operative who previously served as Nominations Counsel for Joe Biden's Senate Judiciary Committee (1993); Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee for Charles Schumer (1994); Minority Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee under John Conyers (1995-1998); and Assistant U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia (1998-2003).Calling yourself nonpartisan after working for Chuck Schumer, John Conyers and Joe Biden is the ultimate in chutzpah. There isn't a nonpartisan bone in their bodies. Simply put, that's insulting to anyone who cares about the truth.
Here's the ultimate irony of today's Strib article. Not surprisingly, it's found in the article's last paragraph:
A lawyer who specializes in FEC matters and helped CREW prepare its complaint said it could be a year or more before the FEC decides whether enough evidence exists to merit further action.If CREW is this great watchdog group, why isn't it releasing the name of the attorney that prepared this complaint? The fact is that CREW's reputation as a watchdog organization is nonexistent except with the Fever Swampers. Check back later today for more information on who CREW is and what their agenda is. I've only touched the tip of this iceberg.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 2:29 AM
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CREW's Handiwork
CREW, the Soros-funded liberal attack organization, recently whined about the preferential treatment politicians have given to their relatives. This Dallas Morning News article highlights the tenacity with which they pursue Republicans:
Ms. Sloan hopes that Congress bans campaign nepotism. Her group studied six years of campaign records from 337 of 435 current House members, those who hold a party leadership post, plus the chairman or senior Republican of any committee or subcommittee. About 93 of 100 senators fit the criteria.That sounds tame enough. That isn't where it ends, though:
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, spent $7,000 in campaign funds two years ago to buy his mother's car, which his campaign now uses. The former House energy chairman paid his wife, Terri Barton, $57,759 and his daughter Kristin Barton $12,622 in the 2006 election cycle. Four years earlier, his campaign sent son Brad Barton $5,000 when he ran for Congress.Here's my response to that paragraph: Yawn. Spending $7,000 on a car that the campaign uses doesn't seem particularly noteworthy. Paying his daughter $12,000+ for a year's work isn't exactly exorbitant, either.
Here's what Mrs. Barton's duties are:
Mrs. Barton's duties as "outreach director" include publishing a quarterly newsletter, designing a Web site and Christmas card, fundraising, event planning, managing correspondence and direct mail, promoting her husband's visibility and recruiting volunteers, Ms. Modlin said, adding that she has years of experience in marketing, fundraising and communication.That's alot of work. Getting paid $57,759 isn't exorbitant by any stretch of the imagination. This information leaves me asking why this qualifies as newsworthy. The simple truth is that it isn't newsworthy.
In Tyler, GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert has paid his wife, Kathy Gohmert, nearly $96,000 since early 2004, when she quit a full-time teaching job. He's defended the arrangement, noting that she has an MBA and has devoted long hours to his campaigns since then.Paying someone $32,000 per year isn't a big deal, especially when you consider the long hours that were involved.
GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson has paid his daughter Lori Pyeatt nearly $161,000 in six years, and $11,000 to the in-laws of another daughter. Spokesman Jesse Benton said it's hardly excessive to pay $27,000 a year to a full-time campaign treasurer.Y-A-W-N
Let me repeat myself.
Y-A-W-N
Frankly, this story was planted to imply that Republican politicians were making their relatives rich. CREW wanted this Soros infomercial to drive voters away from these Republicans. I'd seriously doubt that that's what will happen, though. This won't even slightly dent the support of these politicians.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 5:58 AM
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AQI Running Out Of 'Home Turf'
That's the clear message of this Jack Kelly article. While Harry Reid keeps all of the senators awake to vote on unilateral surrender, the truth about Operation Arrowhead Ripper is making its way to the American people. Here's a sample of the magnitude of failure AQI is experiencing:
Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt devoted his show last Wednesday to the (overwhelmingly negative) opinions of Iraq war veterans on the demands of Democrats that U.S. troops be pulled out. One call was from "Bruce in Upland," whose son is a soldier currently serving in Iraq. "I will speak for my son who right now is bored out of his mind in Ramadi, because he hasn't heard a shot fired in combat now in about six or seven weeks," Bruce said.For every time that John Murtha whines about how "our boys are caught in the middle of a civil war", another "Bruce from Upland" relates how the surge has worked. But it isn't just what has happened. It's about why it's happening:
Mr. Yon was with U.S. troops in the Spring of 2005, when they fought insurgents in the Baqouba suburb of Buhritz. Among "the most proficient at killing our people," he said, were the 1920s Revolution Brigades. In April the 1920s Revolution Brigades attacked al Qaida and asked for U.S. help. Last week Mr. Yon returned to Buhritz with a leader of the group, "Abu Ali."According to Yon's reporting, the 1920s Revolution Brigades were an efficient killing machine. Now that they've switched alliances, AQI has to fight two proficient killing machines: MNF-I forces and the 1920s Revolution Brigades. That's sometimes referred to as being caught east of the rock and west of the hard place. Another way of putting it is that they're trapped in a hopeless situation.
Mr. Yon asked Abu Ali why his group switched sides. "Al Qaida is an abomination of Islam," he replied. "Cutting off heads, stealing peoples money, kidnapping...every type of torture they have done."
The information coming out of Baqouba and Ramadi isn't likely to improve for AQI anytime soon, either:
Al Qaida's brutality has alienated the overwhelming majority of Sunnis as well as the Shias who were the primary targets of its attacks. When the U.S. can provide them with protection, ordinary people are turning on al Qaida with a vengeance. Most of al Qaida's leaders and many of its foot soldiers escaped from Baqouba, and probably will try to establish another "capital" elsewhere. But they're running out of places to go.AQI forces were the people responsible for inciting sectarian violence. As they're put on the run, the likelihood of them inciting sectarian violence drops proportionately. That isn't likely to happen anytime soon.
On another front, success is plainly seen in northern Iraq:
Now at full strength, the U.S. troop surge in Iraq is showing "definitive progress" and the number of forces serving in Iraq's Multinational Division North could be halved by summer 2009, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon said today. A reduction of U.S. forces under the general's command could begin as early as January 2008, he told Pentagon reporters via videoconference.We're pulling out of Iraq why? This doesn't sound anything like the stories that the Democrats and their allies in the Agenda Media feed us. In fact, it's quite the opposite of what we're fed by the elected 'anti-war activists'.
Mixon, commander of both Multinational Division North and the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, is responsible for six Iraqi provinces in northern Iraq, including the city of Baqubah, site of the ongoing Operation Arrowhead Ripper. He said he has given Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander, Multinational Corps Iraq, a plan indicated a possible reduction of force in Multinational Division North during 2008.
Mixon is quite outspoken in his opinion:
Mixon said the current debate over troop withdrawal should revolve around reaching a strategic "end state." "It seems to me that we should first decide what we want the end state to be in Iraq, and how is that end state important to the United States of America, to this region and to the world, and then determine how we can reach that end state, and how much time that will take," he said. "To me, that seems to be the most important thing, because there will be consequences of a rapid withdrawal from Iraq.Gen. Reid's Round Heel Brigades aren't concerned with winning or end states. They're more worried about 'protecting our troops' than what we leave behind. Gen. Mixon has an opinion on 'Gen. Reid's' plan but it isn't flattering to Reid:
"It cannot be a strategy based on, 'Well, we need to leave,'" he added. "That's not a strategy, that's a withdrawal."EXACTLY RIGHT!!!
It's time that they got the crowbar out, pried Harry Reid's and John Murtha's minds open and let new, and accurate, information sink into their minds. It's time we had an honest debate, not the type of thing that's too often called debate but which is closer to a food fight or a shouting match. It's time we banned childish petulant senators like Jim Webb from joining the debate. The last thing we need is a senator who isn't interested in the truth but is driven into fits of rage because he isn't getting what he wants when he wants it.
It's time we sent a message to Gen. Reid's Round Heel Brigades. It's time we said that we demand that they give Gens. Petraeus, Lynch, Odierno and Mixon a chance to succeed.
It's time we sent the message that we demand it because it's the right thing to do.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 10:34 AM
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Wrecking CREW
If I can wreck CREW's day, then I will consider today a definite success. Let's jump back onto their biography. Let me first say that reading this post will help because that's where I laid the footings for this post. Here's more illustrative information from Discover the Networks:
Other CREW officials have similarly deep ties to the political Left. For example, Deputy Director and Communications Director Naomi Seligman Steiner was formerly the Communications Director of Media Matters for America. CREW Special Projects Associate Lida Masoudpour was once a staffer at Media Matters and served as an intern in the office of Senator Hillary Clinton. CREW Senior Counsel Tim Mooney previously served as Senior Counsel at Alliance for Justice (AFJ). CREW Counsel Dan Roth was formerly the Dorot Judicial Selection Fellow at AFJ. CREW Research Associate Robin Powers is a former Program Associate of AFJ who interned with Vital Voices Global Partnership and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. CREW Counsel Kimberly Perkins once worked as the Assistant General Counsel for the National Office of the NAACP, where she led the "Voting Rights & Redistricting Project" and "Election Protection" efforts. CREW Executive Assistant Melissa Cuerdon, who previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry, served internships at the Sierra Club and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).Couple this information with the information about CREW's list of the most corrupt politicians and Sloan's history of gleefully representing the Wilsons and you're left with the impression that George Soros and Theresa Heinz (Tides Foundation) are getting a good return on their investments.
One thing that's obvious: CREW's touting themselves as nonpartisan isn't just laughable; it's a bald-faced lie. Another thing that's obvious: we need to expose this political hatchet team before they gain any credibility. That's what I intend to do here.
CREW pursued further investigations of DeLay, and in May 2005 those efforts paid dividends when Texas State District Judge Joseph Hart ruled that the treasurer of Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC), a PAC founded by DeLay, had violated Texas campaign laws by failing to report some $600,000 in campaign contributions. "The House Ethics Committee has run out of excuses for avoiding an investigation into Rep. DeLay's involvement with TRMPAC," said Melanie Sloan. That same month, Sloan told the Wall Street Journal: "Since I started [with CREW], "the main thing I wanted to do was to go after [Texas Republican and then-Majority Leader] Tom DeLay. DeLay is my top target."If Ms. Sloan is as nonpartisan as she claims, why wasn't her first target John Murtha? Certainly, Murtha's past was littered with indiscretions, scandals, influence peddling ( through the selling of earmarks). It's certainly reasonable to ask why she'd single out DeLay for her mission. Based on the information that I've already covered, the answer is because she's a well-paid liberal political hatchetman.
Here's a sampling of headlines from CREW's webpage:
- CREW Files FEC Complaint Against Sen. Martinez Campaign Committee
- CREW Calls for Rep. Lewis to Step Down from Appropriations Committee
- Melanie Sloan, Legal Counsel for Joe and Valerie Wilson, Responds to Bush Decision to Commute Libby Sentence
- Why hasn't CREW spent a minute investigating Harry Reid's shady land deals?
- Why hasn't CREW investigated Harry Reid's sons and his son-in-law for lobbying Dear Old Dad?
- Why hasn't CREW investigated the lobbying deal that Nancy Pelosi's son just got?
CREW isn't a nonpartisan watchdog group. They're another wholly owned subsidiary of Soros Extremist Politics, Inc.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:34 AM
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Thompson Entering Race Soon
The long-anticipated announcement that Fred Thompson is entering the GOP presidential race appears all but over according to this quote from Zach Wamp in today's Hill Magazine:
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) said Monday that he expects former Sen. Fred Thompson, (R-TN), to soon join the race for the White House. "My view is that he'll enter the race at some point just in the coming days," said Wamp, a key supporter of Thompson.When Sen. Thompson officially enters the race, it essentially trims the field down to him and Rudy. I've said before that Mitt Romney has the finances to stay in the race but he doesn't have the definitive message to win voters over. Fred Thompson's announcement should be likened to a great white shark entering the swimming area at a beach because he's the candidate that will clear the waters of the second tier candidates.
Thompson has long been expected to join the race and the Law & Order star has traveled the country and raised millions. He will take part in a large fundraising event in Washington, D.C. on July 29, but Wamp did not say when a formal announcement would come. The lawmaker said, however, that "a couple dozen members" of the House would publicly support Thompson at the event.It'll be interesting in seeing which GOP House members join Sen. Thompson at this event. It's just a hunch but I'm betting that Mike Pence, Jeb Hensarling and Eric Cantor might be part of that contingent.
"I've talked to quite a few of McCain's supporters in the House of Representatives, a couple in the United States Senate, that are concerned about McCain's standing right now and the fact that he's lost his momentum," Wamp said on MSNBC. He added that Thompson is the second choice of many McCain supporters.McCain ever had momentum? Who knew?
"I feel like Giuliani's running on 9/11 fumes and those fumes are slowly evaporating because there's got to be the substance and the policy," Wamp said. "And [Giuliani] doesn't connect with the base of our party."With all due respect to Rep. Wamp, that's some of the finest spin I've read in awhile. Considering Giuliani's announcement of his legal advisory team yesterday, I'm not smelling the same fumes that Rep. Wamp reportedly is.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 2:37 PM
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Sea Change In Iraq Detected
Gen. Peter Pace stated in a Time Magazine interview that he's seen a "sea change" in the security in Baghdad, Ramadi and elsewhere in Iraq. The timing of this article couldn't happen at a worse time for Gen. Reid's Round Heel Brigades. Just when Harry Reid plans an all-nighter leading up to a vote on unilateral withdrawal, Gen. Pace's article hits the 'newsstands'.
After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday.This confirms what Michael Yon told Hugh Hewitt's radio audience. In that interview, Yon said that AQI is "running out of places to go."
He was asked whether this would inform his thinking about whether to continue the current strategy, with extra U.S. troops battling to security Baghdad and Anbar province. "It will because what I'm hearing now is a sea change that is taking place in many places here," he replied. "It's no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaida out of Ramadi, for example, but rather, now that they have been pushed out, helping the local police and the local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground and set up their systems."
There's still alot of improvements to be made in Iraq, especially politically, but the evidence is mounting and undeniable that things are changing for the better, especially in Anbar and Diyala provinces.
One thing that's certain is that Gen. Pace has as big of a bullhorn as Harry Reid has. When he says that he's noticed a sea change in Iraqi security, people will listen. The same is certainly true of Gen. Petraeus.
In fact, it's apparent that Harry Reid's strategy to cut off debate so they can pass their defeatist bill is a sign that he can't afford to have future Iraq policy hanging on Gen. Petraeus' report. When Gen. Petraeus testifies in September, the nation's eyes will be focused on his testimony. If he gives a detailed report that tells the American people that (a) the war is winnable, (b) Iraq is much more secure than before the surge and (c) that AQI forces have been permanently pushed out of their strongholds, I'll bet the ranch that opinions will change significantly.
Don't expect Reid's 'army' to give up easily. Just expect them to lose the battle.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 3:06 PM
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Harry Reid Finally Fighting Smart???
Yes, you read that right. That's what The Nation's John Nichols thinks in his latest post for The Nation's blog. When it comes to tin ears, Nichols' ear ranks right there with Reid's. Their timing is as good as their ear is.
The Senate Majority Leader's recognition of the realities of Washington in the Bush era, as evidenced by his decision Monday to set up a scenario that could clarify the role played by Republican senators in maintaining the president's exceptionally unpopular approach to the Iraq War, holds out the prospect that the politics of the debate over ending the occupation could change radically in the weeks to come.Mr. Nichols is too full of himself (or full of bovine matter) if he thinks this PR stunt will endear Senate Democrats to the American people. If Mr. Nichols and the other doves at The Nation weren't so certain that their wildest dreams had come true, they'd realize that the American people didn't elect Defeatist Democrats because they wanted an end to the war. They elected Democrats because Democrats promised change in Washington, something that Democrats don't intend on delivering on.
With a quarter of the term of the current Congress now done, it is clear that the cooperative approach adopted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA), and Senate Majority Leader Reid, (D-NV), hasn't worked. It is not just that approval ratings for Congress are now below those of a failed president that Democrats were elected to challenge and constrain. It is that the disastrous war in Iraq, the central crisis of this American moment, continues to claim the lives of US troops and Iraqi civilians at an alarming rate.Iraq is the "central crisis" of our time? This guy needs to take a Valium and chill out. Iraq continues to "claim the lives of US troops and Iraqi civilians at an alarming rate"? Perhaps Mr. Nichols can explain that in light of the fact that civilian casualties dropped 36 percent since the surge began and the troops guarding Ramadi, the former headquarters of AQI, are getting bored with the peace and quiet.
To be certain, I'm sure that Mr. Nichols wants to avoid talking about those statistics and stories. I'm just as certain that he doesn't want to talk about Gen. Peter Pace's interview with Time Magazine because he'd rather play politics with the war than deal with the consequences of the policy decisions.
One thing that I can state with total certainty is that Harry Reid's scheduling a slumber party before voting for unilateral surrender shows he has the same sense of timing as Ms. Pelosi had in scheduling a hearing into global warming. You remember that hearing. It's the one that got postponed because a monster ice storm hit Washington, DC.
After all that, I'll just urge 'Gen. Reid and his Round Heeled Brigade' to charge up that hill to defeat. It's a fitting conclusion to their reckless foreign policy.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 6:44 PM
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"I Can't Believe He Vetoed the Tax Bill"
You heard it right, folks. That's a direct quote from Sen. Rick Olseen in this HometownSource.com article. That isn't the lone eye-catching quote. Check this quote out from Al Doty, (D-Royalton):
Rep. Al Doty, DFL-Royalton, opined the governor perhaps has come to realize he needs items in the tax bill. Maybe, too, Pawlenty's listening to some of angry people he's hearing who want their property taxes lowered, Doty said. But Doty sees no hurry. "I'd rather wait until we go back in February to deal with matters, but first-termers don't set policy!" said Doty.Mr. Doty has been an embarrassment to his district. I won't be surprised if he turns into a 1 term wonder.
Here's another funny quote:
Rep. Jeremy Kalin, DFL-Lindstrom, suggested special session rumors stem from gubernatorial "veto remorse." "My constituents, especially local mayors, city councilors and county commissioners, are quite upset that all of their local government aid and county program aid was vetoed because of an ideological objection to a single sentence," wrote Kalin, referring to the inflation factor.Rep. Kalin & the other DFLers set it up so that the tax bill also contained the LGA. In their minds, it was a win-win situation. If Gov. Pawlenty vetoed the bill, they figured to use it against Republicans. If he signed it, they'd have their additional revenue.
The biggest problem with that was that their tax increases were so monstrous that they utterly inflamed the mayors, the small businesses and the chambers of commerce to such an extent that using the issue is a net negative for the DFL. It's a negative because every quote like this is another reminder to small businesses why they need to return the GOP to the majority.
The Tax Bill also will benefit Republicans by reminding voters that the DFL is the free-spending, budget-on-autopilot party. When Kalin says that the bill was vetoed because of a single sentence, he's referring to the inflation escalator that would've artificially eliminated the real surplus, thereby giving the DFL the justification for their exorbitant tax increases.
As you'll recall, Gov. Pawlenty told them that he'd veto the bill regardless. Remember that Gov. Pawlenty met with the DFL leadership the night before the session ended to reconcile the various bills. At that time, he told them that they shouldn't include the inflation escalator. They essentially told Gov. Pawlenty to take a hike, that this wasn't negotiable.
By the way, "that one sentence" was the difference between fiscal stupidity & fiscal sanity. The DFL knows that. They just won't admit that in public.
Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, sees the odds of a special session happening as low and dropping. "I sincerely believe Minnesota has been severely damaged by the governor's vetoes. The e-mails I receive are overwhelmingly critical of his transportation veto," said Carlson, who views national political ambition guiding the governor's veto pen.You'll notice that Sen. Carlson's statement that "Minnesota has been severely damaged by the governor's vetoes" isn't substantiated with his reasoning for that opinion. It isn't even backed up by examples of how it's damaging Minnesota.
Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, insists the DFL Senate is agreeable. "It's been hard to tell whether he's (Pawlenty) really been interested or not," she said of holding a special session.I gave Tarryl more credit than that. It's almost impossible to believe that she can't tell whether Gov. Pawlenty is interested in a special session. The answer is that he's interested if there's an agreement on them working solely on (a) a responsible Transportation Bill & (b) passing a clean LGA bill. If the DFL won't consent to that, then he isn't interested in a special session.
NOTE TO TARRYL: It's fairly straightforward, even straightforward enough for a liberal to grasp.
Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:04 PM
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