I was for the war before I was against the war before I was for the war
Posted at 8:32pm on Jun. 21, 2008 *Not* the return of the Security Majority in Congress.
"Return" implies that it ever went away.
By Moe Lane
FiveThirtyEight.com has some numbers up of how the Blue Dogs jumped on FISA. As they note, the final vote was 105 Yea to 128 Nay on the Democratic side, which in itself is instructive of the failure of the progressive netroots to impose their desires on their Party; but among competitive-seat Democrats (31, as per the Cook Political Report*) the ratio was 23 Yea to 8 Nay. A fairly significant difference: and one that suggests that the Democrats have a fairly significant disconnect between rhetoric and reality. But we'll discuss that below.
By the way, those 23 Yea votes were from: Harry Mitchell AZ-5, Gabrielle Giffords AZ-8, Jerry McNerney CA-11, Tim Mahoney FL-16, John Barrow GA-12, Jim Marshall GA-8, Melissa Bean, IL-8, Brad Ellsworth IN-8, Nancy Hoyda KS-2, Dennis Moore KS-3, John Yarmuth KY-3, Don Cazayoux LA-6, Travis Childers MS-1, Kirsten Gillibrand NY-20, Michael Arcuri NY-24, Zack Space OH-18, Chris Carney PA-10, Paul Kanjorski PA-11, Jason Altmire PA-4, Joe Sestak PA-7, Patrick Murphy PA-8, Nick Lampson TX-22, and Ciro Rodriguez TX-23. I mention this because I am given to understand that ActBlue is making it a point to target these individuals (as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer), and far be it from me to stand in their way. Go ahead and spend that money, netrooters.
The rest of you, read on.
Posted in Congress | FISA | I was for the war before I was against the war before I was for the war | Kneel Before Zod — Comments (6)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:28am on Dec. 9, 2007 Gooooood morning, Democrats!
What's on the agenda for today?
By Moe Lane
Oh, just the usual: there's a new apostate that they have to now ignore, dismiss, and/or defame. General John Batiste. You may have heard of him:
First, the United States must be successful in the fight against worldwide Islamic extremism. We have seen this ruthless enemy firsthand, and its global ambitions are undeniable. This struggle, the Long War, will probably take decades to prosecute. Failure is not an option.
Second, whether or not we like it, Iraq is central to that fight. We cannot walk away from our strategic interests in the region. Iraq cannot become a staging ground for Islamic extremism or be dominated by other powers in the region, such as Iran and Syria. A premature or precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, without the requisite stability and security, is likely to cause the violence there -- which has decreased substantially but is still present -- to cascade into an even larger humanitarian crisis.
Third, the counterinsurgency campaign led by Gen. David Petraeus is the correct approach in Iraq. It is showing promise of success and, if continued, will provide the Iraqi government the opportunities it desperately needs to stabilize its country. Ultimately, however, these military gains must be cemented with regional and global diplomacy, political reconciliation, and economic recovery -- tools yet sufficiently utilized. Today's tactical gains in Iraq -- while a necessary pre-condition for political reconciliation -- will crumble without a deliberate and comprehensive strategy.
Via Captain Ed, who also noted the recent revelation that key Democrats were briefed on waterboarding techniques in 2002 - and effectively responded with "Hit 'em harder." Anyone surprised about this apparent reversal should consult this video (Via Instapundit):
- and remember that this is simply just the sort of people that they are.
Posted in 2008 | Business as Usual | I was for the war before I was against the war before I was for the war — Comments (15)/ Email this page » / Read More »
