Thursday, November 30, 2006
Promise Made...Promise Broken
Well, that didn't take long:
The Democrats are somewhat smart. Unlike the Republicans who decided to print their Contract With America in TV Guide -- thus guaranteeing that their campaign promises would get a fair bit of wide circulation, in "the most expensive political ad" -- congressional Democrats have kept their "100 hours" agenda pretty much close to the vest.
Thus, when certain items start getting dropped, hey, it's not like the public will notice, right?
Of course, in the Democrats defense, they didn't exactly run on a fully-formed agenda of their own. Their main talking point was that, "We're not Republicans."
That was enough. Come January, of course, Democrats will have to do something other than make excuses and break promises.
Won't they?
Technorati Tags: Democrats, 911 Commission
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It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."All" doesn't quite mean "all," I guess. And, of course, the easiest thing to jettison is anything that has to do with the way Congress takes care of its own business.
But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. Instead, Democratic leaders may create a panel to look at the issue and produce recommendations, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.
Because plans for implementing the commission's recommendations are still fluid, Democratic officials would not speak for the record. But aides on the House and Senate appropriations, armed services and intelligence committees confirmed this week that a reorganization of Congress would not be part of the package of homeland-security changes up for passage in the "first 100 hours" of the Democratic Congress.
The Democrats are somewhat smart. Unlike the Republicans who decided to print their Contract With America in TV Guide -- thus guaranteeing that their campaign promises would get a fair bit of wide circulation, in "the most expensive political ad" -- congressional Democrats have kept their "100 hours" agenda pretty much close to the vest.
Thus, when certain items start getting dropped, hey, it's not like the public will notice, right?
Of course, in the Democrats defense, they didn't exactly run on a fully-formed agenda of their own. Their main talking point was that, "We're not Republicans."
That was enough. Come January, of course, Democrats will have to do something other than make excuses and break promises.
Won't they?
Technorati Tags: Democrats, 911 Commission
