Posted on 07/19/2007 4:13:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
Senate Democrats, who had announced an all-nighter Tuesday to reiterate their anti-war positions, packed it in shortly before midnight, surrendering to a greater desire for a few hours sleep. Only a handful of stalwart senators kept the Senate - technically - in session. We know that Senate Democrats don't have the staying power to win the war in Iraq, but can't they even make it through the night without some shuteye?
"Harry, sweetheart," said Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, who led a group of Democrats in pleading with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for a delay in voting, "5:30 or 6?" Reid complied and senators abandoned the chamber so fast you would have thought it was on fire. This was not a demonstration of the strength needed to strike fear in the hearts of those who can tough it out in caves while plotting new ways to destroy us.
Eliza Doolittle could have "danced all night," but the prospect of staying awake all night was too much for the aging bodies and weakened spirits of most senators. Having surrendered to the loony left and having sent signals to our enemies that they are no longer in the fight to win it, most went to sleep.
One never hears Democrats speaking of victory, only retreat. They have embraced defeat, unwilling to wait for the "new strategy" they had demanded to work. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Republican, noted that the surge of 30,000 American troops is in its infancy and in fact has just been completed in the last two weeks "and yet we're pulling the rug out from under the new plan. Š We cannot be the greatest country on earth and say, 'don't trust us if you're our ally and don't fear us if you're our enemy.' And that's exactly what we would be doing if we leave Iraq because Congress sets a deadline, regardless of what's happening on the ground in Iraq."
Democrats are fond of saying that the United States should be fighting al-Qaida, but not in Iraq, and that if we pull out, or pull back, we will have more resources to fight terrorists. This is like saying we should not have fought the Japanese in World War II in order to devote more resources to defeating Hitler. There were some who argued that way and others who, before 1939, said Hitler was not a threat to America and that we should stay out of a European war.
Since the American Revolution, there have always been naysayers, doubters, fellow travelers and willing or duped enablers of America's enemies. There have been politicians, academics, clergy and journalists who claimed that U.S. foreign policy, whether promoted by a Democratic or Republican president, was the wrong policy and a different one should be tried. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt had strong opposition to their conduct of the Civil War and World War II. Harry Truman left office with record low approval ratings. Those presidents eventually won favor from historians and most Americans because they stuck to their guns - figuratively and literally - and were proved right.
No one can predict whether the policy in Iraq and against terrorism by the Bush-Cheney administration will similarly be proven correct. We may not know until both men are long gone from politics and possibly many years after they have left this earth. This is a world war unlike any we have ever fought and it cannot be fought like we fought other wars.
The latest National Intelligence Estimate concludes that al-Qaida is continuing to focus on high profile political, economic and infrastructure targets in America for the purpose of causing mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, economic aftershocks and fear. Democrats argue that Iraq has emboldened them and served as a recruiting tool. But American troops were not in Iraq on Sept. 11, 2001, or in 1993 when the World Trade Center was first hit. Numerous other attacks against American forces and interests occurred before the Iraq War. Al-Qaida needs no excuse for recruiting and killing Americans.
There will be plenty of time for debate in September when the report on the effectiveness of the surge comes from Gen. David Petraeus. Do Democrats fear it will be a positive report and so they are doing their best to undermine it now? Has our politics become so cynical that some would prefer defeat for political advantage than victory because it might aid the "other side," meaning Republicans?
If so, God help us.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They’ve seen their approval ratings.
The American public hates the entire government, it seems. Nobody cares about their stupid games right now.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The way they are going it won’t be long before they are in the single digits
I’m pretty happy about the Republicans sticking together and blocking this crap. Credit where credit is due you know.
LLS
I KNEW the Senate idea of an all-nighter would actually be a few extra hours of “work.” Cheeseballs and goofasauruses.
There is an image juxtaposed in my mind of pictures I’ve seen. One is of U.S. soldiers trying to rest and sleep, in their gear, in holes they have dug out in the sand in Iraq. The other is of U.S. senators lying on cots during their shameless “charade” (as per Mitch McC.) of a debate on Capitol Hill, about dragging our troops home before they achieve victory. One group resting from fighting for us. One group fighting against us.
I’ll try to find those pics, but, if anyone has easy access to them, I wish you would post them together.
As much as we see the Democrats as pathetic and spineless, we don’t hold a candle to the hardcore lefties. I’m quite amused at their bitter, bitter disappointment. They thought the Democrats were coming in to confront Emperor Chimpy and kick Team Haliburton to the curb. Instead, they elected a pack of whiners who can’t even organize a slumber-party-for-peace. Hilarious!
Instead, we have one major party kowtowing to the left, which always means flirting with defeatism, even treason. The republicans SHOULD have countered by marginalizing the democrats. Instead the GOP is afraid that most people sympathize with all the craziness, and is apologetic.
President Bush constantly says the parties "just have a difference of opinion" when he should be shamimg the democrats to distance themselves from the left.
All this is very dangerous for America. Left wing democrats have the Congress. When they get the White House, we will all suffer the consequences of the dems' extremism.
Populist / Elitist split would be nice to see rather than Elitist Left vs. Elitist Moderate.
Problem is Gramsci’s long march of the left through our institutions has made the public reflexively leftist.
of course the dems wimped out, but the republicans are spineless woosies. the republicans never attempted an all-nighter before. everything is about perception even tho the dems wimped out and knew they were wasting time they attempted.
I was looking forward to more of this scintillating speechifying.
we need to shame these critters some more. apparently there are provisions for illegals in the DEFENCE BILL. citizenship to illegal children, in-state tuition ect. WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH BEANS AND BULLETS FOR TROOPS. just so these idiots can say.....you dont care for the troops you didnt vote for this bill!!!! MENDACITY! I know this kind of thing happens with lots of bills, is there any work afoot to stop this kind of idiocy? wasnt some min wage put in the last def bill?
I think I saw that picture yesterday on one of the threads
Like Rush said yesterday on his show dingy Harry is the most incompetent “leader” the rats have in the senate. And they judge the president as incompetent?
Apparently, they requested the new strategy and handpicked the leader, but then were unwilling to let the plan work - sounds like cut'n'run to me...
The cots that Harry Reid ordered were very appropriate for the occasion — Democrats Asleep at the Helm.
And Barbara Boxer was the first to leave the poop deck.
And Harry Reid slept in a cot just inches away from the bridge in case the spotter in the crow’s nest called out seeing the edge of the (flat) earth ahead.
mark
I’m not laughing. The ‘Rats are going to get us all killed. Laughing at these thoughtless, but malevolent “leaders” is ignoring the power they still have, regardless of what the polls say.
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