Humor and the Congressional/Executive Deadlock
By Chad A. B. Wilson
Published March 29, 2007, 2:40 pm in News, Voting & Partisanship, Rhetoric.
Will the petty confrontations never stop? It sure doesn't seem like it. The Democrats have the upper hand in Congress, but they're not using it all that wisely. They're basically waging an all-out attack against President Bush, an attack that is unrelenting and definitely not helpful.
Now I agree with government oversight. I agree that Congress needs to watch out for the other branches of government just as those other branches have to watch out for Congress. But then again, I agree with executive privilege, as I have discussed several times in this forum. But the two have to be able to work together, just like the two houses, the two branches (executive and legislative), and the two parties have to be able to work together. What we have is one nation, not two countries where one country is Democratic and the other Republican. Congress and the president must represent all of the American people, and they must do what is right for all of us, not just for their own constituents or for their own parties.
That's the ideal, at least, and it's a good ideal. It can work. But not at the rate we're going. Currently, Bush is fighting Congress on two different fronts, and as it goes, I find myself siding with President Bush more and more. And that, frankly, is something I never thought I would do. Bush is not just some embattled president; for me, he is the definitive country club Republican who likes to get votes through the moral high ground. Nope, I can't stand him. When he talks, I generally find myself cringing, often thinking such things as "what the heck is this guy doing in the presidency?"
But sometimes he surprises me. Some of you may remember the White House Correspondents Dinner from last April when Stephen Colbert blasted the president and almost everything Republican. Bush sat there, took it, and then shook the guy's hand, even though many in the audience just weren't laughing. In hindsight, the whole thing was hilarious. Well, last night was the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner and the highlights were two: first, Karl Rove got up there and danced like a rapper. The video is hilarious, and I think it may be the funniest thing ever recorded by C-Span. Of course, that's not really not saying that much. According to Rove, he like to "rip the tops off of small creatures," collect stamps, and hunt quail. And then they turned it into a rap song with Rove saying "I'm MC Rove!"
The second highlight was from Bush. He made quite a few comments that make me appreciate this guy, especially this one: "Well, where should I start? A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn, and my Vice President had shot someone. Ahhh, those were the good old days." Now that's funny; almost as funny as George Bush searching for weapons of mass destruction in his address to the same audience several years ago. There has to be something bitter in these comments, though. It seems that this dinner is the one place where the president et al. can let their hair down. Especially when Bush said "You in the press certainly have had a lot to report lately. Take the current controversy. I have to admit we really blew the way we let those attorneys go. You know you botched it when people sympathize with lawyers."
In reality, away from the magic of the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, I can't imagine a President Bush saying "I have to admit we really blew" anything. Remember that this is the same president who, when asked about his biggest regret as president, said he couldn't think of anything. This is a president who has no regrets, who doesn't back down, and who is praised for his steadfastness. Yep, people like him for the very reason that they didn't like John Kerry. One thing you can say about Bush--he's no flip-flopper. He makes a decision and then he generally sticks to it. We haven't heard him or anyone else say that they made a mistake with the firings, at least not in any official channel. But for some reason, this dinner is where it can all hang out. He can admit to a mistake here because, well, it's all a joke anyway. And it's a pretty funny one if I do have to say so myself. And it makes me appreciate this guy. This is the kind of president I want. I want him to come out and give a speech where he says this, officially. Where he says, "Yep, we blew it. Pretty funny that people are now sympathizing with lawyers, huh? But seriously, we made a mistake. The people responsible for this will be fired." Then I would vote for the guy. I'll vote for anyone who admits his mistakes and takes the consequences. There are none like that, perhaps, but I can still hope.
What we have with this situation is a Congressional/executive deadlock, though. They want Rove et al. subpoenaed, and Bush won't let them. He told them again and again that he won't let them, but they keep insisting on it.
It's the same situation with the Iraq funding. The House passed a bill and now the Senate has passed a bill that both state a date for withdrawal, even if it is nonbinding. And here Bush is saying something like "I told you all along: you put a date, I'll veto it."
And here the Democrats are forcing a bill through that, among other things, includes a date. They're tempting one another, and no one really knows who is going to get the upper hand. They're both trying to blame one another. Bush says that the Democrats are tying the hands of the commanders in the military by dictating military business and strategy. The Democrats are saying that Bush will be refusing to fund the troops if he doesn't pass the bill that they signed.
I'm sorry, but I'm with Bush on this one. I have no respect for the Democrats here. I respect the timetable, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. But don't try to blame Bush for not passing the bill. He's been saying for months now that there can be no timetable, no set withdrawal time. They tempt him, they prod him, they provoke him, and I darn well hope he does what he says he will do--veto the bill. On the one hand, I want my president to admit when he's wrong, but on the other hand, there is no need to back down when he's right. I agree that we should let the military make the timetable, not Congress. Congress doesn't know everything that is going on there, not like the military commanders. I would love to see a date set, but it needs to be set by the military, not by Congress. At least not at this point.
And don't try to blame shift. For the Democratic leader to come out and blame Bush for not giving money to fund the war is just ridiculous. It is that move right there that I can't respect. Let's go ahead and quote it: Harry Reid said "If the president uses his veto pen, he will be the one denying funding for the troops."
Nope, wrong move. He's trying the preemptive strike, and I see right through it. It's ridiculous is what it is. Don't give me that kind of crap when I know better.
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