It is quite amusing to watch Nancy Pelosi grab every possible opportunity to stand in front of a TV camera to bemoan what she calls the Republicans’ "culture of corruption." Pelosi, and the rest of the Democrat leadership, are trying desperately to smear President Bush and the Republican party with charges of corruption in relation to the spurious allegations that Tom DeLay and Senator Bill Frist may have done something wrong.
It’s strange that during the Clinton years, Pelosi didn’t say a thing about the "prorev.com/legacy.htm culture of corruption" that permeated the entire Clinton administration. In fact, the Democrat leadership made a point of standing for a photo op with the President who had defiled the White House with his sexcapades, and lied under oath to a grand jury, and to the american people.
Where was the outcry about the "culture of corruption" surrounding Hillary’s campaign financing in 2000?
Where was the outcry about the "culture of corruption" surrounding Enron’s influence over the Commerce Department’s support for the horrendous fraud, that ultimately toppled the company? Where was the outcry about the last minute pardons, or any of the events in one of the nation’s most scandal-ridden, corrupt administration?
The same Democrat leaders, who now bay like Georgia hounds about allegations of corruption, were then silent, in the face of genuine corruption. What hypocrisy!
The Democrat leadership has no agenda other than bashing President Bush and all Republicans. Their strategy seems to be that if they can sling enough mud at the Republicans, they will regain control of the government by default.
Fortunately, not all Democrats are cast in the same mold as their current leadership. The nation benefits when different philosophies and conflicting ideas meet in honest debate, where resolution is the result of compromise and a final public vote.
The recent passage of the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery act provides a great example of how Democrats and Republicans can disagree, respectfully, and still produce a policy result that is acceptable to proponents on both sides of the argument. The bill was co-sponsored by Republican Richard Pombo, and Democrat Dennis Cardoza, both from California. On final passage (229 - 193), 36 Democrats voted for the bill, and 34 Republicans voted against it. Throughout the floor debate, Congressmen on both sides expressed appreciation to their opponents for the civility of the debate, and the spirit of compromise that prevailed as the bill made its way through committee, and to ultimate passage.
When good ideas are ignored, simply because they come from a member of the opposite party, america is the loser. When the quest for power supersedes the quest for good public policy, the power seekers betray the trust of their electors - and should be replaced.
With elections barely a year away, the Democrat leadership appears to have little thought about good public policy. Instead, their only focus appears to be bashing everything Republican.
Major policy questions must be addressed during the remaining months of this Congressional session. Congress must increase access to energy resources, and remove the unnecessary regulatory obstacles to building new refineries and new power plants. Congress must decide the nation’s appropriate role in rebuilding the Gulf coast. Congress must deal with the crucial Constitutional question of when it may be appropriate for the federal government to take control from state and local government in response to crises, whether natural or man-made. and there is a war underway - that must be won.
If the Democrat leadership is, in fact, the "loyal" opposition, they have a duty to participate in civil debate on all these issues. Nancy Pelosi’s boycott of the Katrina inquiry, and the rush by the Democrat leadership to blame Bush for all that went wrong in Katrina’s aftermath, illustrates the difference between "loyal" opposition, and opportunistic obstructionists whose quest is regaining power.
The people who elected the Democrat leadership - and all americans - deserve better representation. There are many responsible Democrats who really want to participate in the process, not obstruct it. These are the people voters should find, between now and the next election. after all, it is the voters who determine the quality of leadership in Congress.
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