Recently in Congress Category

The Washington Post

Whatever happens in Mississippi, Boehner has enough trouble to preoccupy him here in Washington, where House Democrats have been passing their agenda with little thought for Republican preferences. "The majority has taken, once again, their go-it-alone policy," Boehner lamented yesterday. "It's time for Democrats and Republicans to work together."

Time for Democrats and Republicans to work together? Where the hell was this sentiment when the Republicans were the majorities in both the house and senate? Seriously, how the hell can this man even eat food with that mouth, considering the bullshit it produces.

Washington Post

Lott's early exit casts a shadow on an extraordinary congressional career. Elected to Congress in 1972 at age 31, as a defender of Richard M. Nixon, he voted for impeachment as a House Judiciary Committee member when confronted with the evidence. He was the House's second-ranking Republican at age 39; won the same job in the Senate 14 years later; as 1984 Republican platform chairman shaped a supply-side document in defiance of the White House staff's design; and served for six years as the most effective Republican Senate majority leader of his time.

An early exit casts a shadow on an extraordinary congressional career? I think being removed from the majority leader position over charges of racism managed that quite effectively. Robert here is just pissed because his beloved Republican party is in a position to lose another seat in the Senate. Otherwise, this rambling, unfocused column has no other purpose than to reiterate Lott's resume. He sure as hell didn't explain why Lott is resigning. Hell, he more or less discounts the conventional wisdom on Lott's departure.

Actually, federal legislators know how to build tidy nest eggs without spending one day in the private sector -- none of them much better than Trent Lott. Except for one year as a practicing attorney fresh out of law school, Lott has spent his career on the public payroll -- four years as a congressional staffer, 16 years in the House and 19 in the Senate.

Though, he fails to deliver any proof of Lott's nest egg.

Indeed, this entire effort on Novak's part seems more about venting his displeasure over Lott's pending resignation and it's effect on the Republican party's standing in government then on strengthening the narrative of Lott leaving for financial reasons. The old boy just seems to lack the heart of defending a rat fleeing a sinking ship.

New York Times

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 — The White House began a campaign Thursday to save the candidacy of Michael B. Mukasey for attorney general, with President Bush defending him in a speech and in an Oval Office interview, where he complained that Mr. Mukasey was “not being treated fairly” on Capitol Hill.

Gee, I wonder if the people of New Orleans feel they were "not being treated fairly" during the aftermath of Katrina? I suppose that's water over the dike. How about the Iraq veteran's who've come home to discover their promised benefits cut? I wonder if they have feelings of "not being treated fairly?"

Anyway, it's really pathetic to have to listen to our president whine about unfair treatment as if life is some kind of fall festival with fun rides and rip-off carnival games. But then, I am expecting too much from the vocabularily challenged village idiot.

When is this wimp going to develop a back bone? Oh, wait, never mind. His mother is carrying it for him.

Washington Post

The White House plans to try implementing as much new policy as it can by administrative order while stepping up its confrontational rhetoric with Congress after concluding that President Bush cannot do much business with the Democratic leadership, administration officials said.

According to those officials, Bush and his advisers blame Democrats for the holdup of Judge Michael B. Mukasey's nomination to be attorney general, the failure to pass any of the 12 annual spending bills, and what they see as their refusal to involve the White House in any meaningful negotiations over the stalemated children's health-care legislation.

Any meaningful negotiations? When the stance of the White House is to simply refuse to fund health insurance for children on ideological grounds, there is no possibility for meaningful negotiations to occur.

Oh, and isn't it rich that the White House is complaining about being left out of the process now, when for the 5 years of republican control of the House and Senate, the democratic party wasn't even allowed to propose legislation.

Kettle, met pot.

New York Times

ISTANBUL, Oct. 11 — Turkey reacted angrily Thursday to a House committee vote in Washington to condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey that began during World War I, recalling its ambassador from Washington and threatening to withdraw its support for the Iraq war.

In uncharacteristically strong language, President Abdullah Gul criticized the vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee in a statement to the semi-official Anatolian News Agency, and warned that the decision could work against the United States.

I am not a foreign policy wonk. Hell, I am not a wonk of any type. But, it seems to me, that if you wanted to ham string BushCo™'s march towards war with Iran, what better way then to piss off an ally. Turkey being close to Iran and all, it seems that we'd be needing their air space and bases for any bombing of Iran, though I could be wrong.

Also, if someone wanted to work towards making it more difficult to stay in Iraq, this seems to be a rather novel, and indirect, manner in forcing the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would definitely take up the measure. “I said if it comes out of committee, it will go to the floor,” she told reporters. “Now it has come out of committee, and it will go to the floor.”

I'm just saying.

Of course, the down side to all this; it becomes more grist for accusing Democrats of not supporting our service members.

New York Times

Mr. Gates and other military officials have said that 70 percent of the military cargo sent to Iraq is flown through Incirlik or on routes over Turkey.

To drive home the potential impact of the House action, American officials have warned that delivery of new heavily armored trucks, known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, could be disrupted. Senior military officials said Thursday that the roughly 400 such vehicles delivered since July have been flown in over Turkey but not landed on its territory. Those flights could avoid Turkish airspace, if necessary, they said.

So, I am not so sure as to the intelligence of this move. In terms of forcing hard choices about the continued presence of our troops in Iraq, and of any military action against Iran, it seems to be questionable. But, in life there has to be some risks. Yet politically, this could spell disaster for the Democrats in the House. Still, I am of a mind to sit back and wait. Honestly, this can't be anymore damaging than, say, lying us into illegally invading and occupying a sovereign nation.

Oh, Christ! Just when you thought it was safe to be a Republican again.

At long last, our national nightmare is over.

ABC News

Though Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, had previously pledged to resign by Sunday, amid allegations he cruised for gay sex in a public bathroom, he now says he will stay in office. "Sen. Larry Craig denies that he went into that restroom for anything other than to go to the restroom," said Craig's attorney Billy Martin, arguing Wednesday that his client's only mistake was pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit in the hopes of making it go away.

The Republicans must be getting ready to pull their hair out. This guy just is not going to leave.

The Agonist

The "Brains" Thomas Nast Political Cartoon

March 20, 2003 Through the Present

Michael Collins
Scoop Independent News
Washington, D.C.

1. Well, to start, Congress gave Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R) $1.5 billion dollars to build two bridges to absolutely nowhere. After two years, the citizens of Alaska stopped one of them and Sen. Stevens is now subject of an FBI investigation targeting public corruption. (1) (2)

2. Right in the middle of this major war, Congress decided to give away hundreds of billions in tax cuts to major corporations. Isn't war supposed to be a time of sacrifice? Guess the big guys are too busy making money to sacrifice. (1) (2)

3. Speaking of sacrifice, Congress continued its special retirement system where just five years of service gets you full retirement with benefits at age 62. Sweet! Where can we get that deal? (1)

4. One day Congress was feeling so powerful it decided to trash the great protection against unlawful imprisonment, the writ of habeas corpus. This dates back 800 years to the Magna Carta. You can now be arrested without a charge, denied a lawyer, and held indefinitely. They said it's just for terrorists but they lied. As a special bonus, those torture techniques for terrorists can also be used on U.S. citizens. More of that globalism business. Taser alert! (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

5. But let's be fair, the U.S. Senate did take a firm stand on Iraq just recently. They took the time to vote 72 to 25 to condemn an anti war group for criticizing the testimony of one of the few generals who actually supports the war. At the same time they gave billions more to continue in Iraq. Attack an ad, fund a war. It's Congress in action. (1) (2)

6. As if nuking a newspaper ad wasn't enough, Congress gave recently embarrassed Sen. Vitter, (R-LA), a big fat check for his pet project - "a Louisiana Christian group that has challenged the teaching of Darwinian evolution in the public school system and to which he has political ties." (1) (2)

7. Meanwhile, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) got a 56 vote Senate majority to guarantee U.S. troops sufficient rest and leave to recover from the hardships of the Iraq war. But it needed 60 votes to pass! "It's a congressional thing, we wouldn't understand." (1) (2) (3)

8. Congress made sure that seniors continue to pay top dollar for their medicine by refusing, that's right, refusing to let Medicare officials negotiate bulk discounts from big drug companies (Big Pharma). Why wouldn't they want seniors to get up to 60% off for vital medicines? Got me. (1) (2)

9. Congress might be getting a little worried about us, the citizens. They passed a bill allowing the government to spy on our phone conversations and emails without a warrant "just because they say so." All it takes is the Attorney General and one intelligence official to say so and you're bugged. You'll never know it. They wouldn't want to upset us, would they? (1) (2) (3) (4)

10. Not satisfied with screwing the seniors, the soldiers, and just about all U.S. citizens, Congress is now out to get the world by blocking any real action on global warming. Congress must be smarter than just about every scientist in the world. They're the "Brains." (1) (2) (3) (4)

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