Month: November 2002

This George Will column says it all, in my estimation. Here’s the money graf:

Nancy Pelosi, whose understanding of America surely is conditioned by her habitat’s 85 percent Gore-Nader majority, now will referee the Democrats’ intramural rumble between those who ascribe the party’s failure to its message and those who blame only the “articulating” of it. Actually, the party’s message, frequently communicated with ruinous clarity for five decades, is condescension toward the American people.

and a few other choice bits:

In the 1950s, when liberals were “madly for Adlai,” the country liked Ike, which deepened liberals’ disdain for the majority. It was “the bland leading the bland.” Then came liberal contempt for Ronald Reagan, a contempt now reprised regarding George W. Bush.

…

Today’s Democratic Party believes, as ardent environmentalists do, in recycling — of old newspapers, old bottles, old senators (Walter Mondale, Frank Lautenberg). And old vendettas (Florida, where the state teachers union mortgaged its Tallahassee headquarters for $1.7 million and squandered almost that much attacking Gov. Jeb Bush). Most of all, the party recycles old ideas.

…

After Britain’s Labor Party was demolished by Margaret Thatcher in the 1983 general election, an undaunted Laborite vowed, “No compromise with the electorate.” That can be the rallying cry of Pelosi Democrats.

Given the reaction of Democrats to the election results, you have to wonder if they actually believe in democracy at all. There’s very little evidence that they do, except in California.

Nancy Pelosi isn’t the first Frisco Liberal to aspire to Democratic Party leadership in the House of Reps. Her mentor and benefactor, Phil Burton, came within one vote of being elected Leader in 1976, representing the same district as Pelosi. Here’s a little background on Phil from the late John Jacobs, author of the Burton biography “Rage for Justice”:

Burton also was an alcoholic slob, an ill-mannered, ill-tempered fanatic totally, obsessively committed to promoting liberal causes. And he was very successful, passing a black lung bill that benefited hundreds of thousands of miners and their families (not one of whom lived in his district), passing Supplemental Social Security for the aged, blind and disabled, and creating the extensive national park system enjoyed across America today.

From 1964 to his premature death in 1983 he was the most influential left-liberal in the House, who came within a heartbeat of being one of the most influential politicians in the House, period. Only liquor and his big mouth got in his way. In 1976 he failed by one vote to become House Majority Leader, a position that would have likely led him to become Speaker of the House.

“Challenging Tip O’Neill to a fight killed his chances to be Majority Leader,” said Jacobs. Burton and his loyal wife, Sala, were in the cocktail bar at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1972 having drinks with O’Neill and another couple after a fund-raising dinner. Burton was drunk and profane and when O’Neill asked him to watch his language the congressman jumped up and challenged him to a fight. Sala calmed her husband but it was too late. Burton lost control in front of the wrong man at the wrong time.

Phil created the legislative districts that guaranteed ultra-left representation in Sacramento, and even created one that ensured Congressional victory for his coke-head brother John. This district combined the most Democratic portions of 5 counties, and was only contiguous at a point beneath the Frisco Bay. When John had to leave the Congress, he bequeathed it to Barbara Boxer, his field office head.

Unbeknownst to me, Democrats disgruntled by the outcome of last week’s elections apparently sponsored a contest to elicit the most idiotic analysis of their fall from grace, with extra credit going to hateful, nasty, and abusive remarks. Thus far, the front runners in this competition are the following:

• Bill Moyers, for a column claiming that the Republican tax cut “transfer[s] wealth from working people to the rich”.
• Paul Krugman, for the column blaming the election on the media: “Democrats should complain as loudly about the real conservative bias of the media as the Republicans complain about its entirely mythical liberal bias;”
• Garrison Keillor for a column in which he made an underhanded smear about Norm Coleman’s personal life: “Everyone knows that his family situation is, shall we say, very interesting…”
• Big-time asshole Adam Clymer for comparing the Bush presidency to that of William Henry Harrison and praising swimming sensation Teddy Kennedy.
• Eric Alterman for this column blaming the media and saying: “President Bush is a liar.”
• Cynthia McKinney for this: “And finally, it is the economy, stupid!” Duh.
• And of course we can’t overlook Congressional Democrats for replacing Dick Gephardt with a Frisco liberal, but there must be more.

  UPDATE: There are. Thanks to Opinion Journal’s Best O’ the Web, some more:

• Bob Herbert, New York Times: “With two more justices like [Scalia and Thomas], progressive government would be caught in the devastating trap of a right-wing assault from all sides–the White House, the Congress and the courts–with the Treasury drained of all money for new initiatives.”
• Will Hutton, Sunday Observer (Britain): “This is the most fiercely reactionary programme to have emerged in any Western democracy since the war.”
• Mark Morford, SFGate.com: “If you are female, gay, bisexual, atheist, black, immigrant, poor, progressive, intellectual, open minded, open hearted, if you hold alternative views, dress funny, dance, enjoy sex, read seditious literature, believe in peace and funky spirituality and don’t particularly care for a sneering angry self-righteous well-armed anti-everything deity, you are about to find out. The hard way. And so is everyone else.”
• Monica Friedlander, Democrats.com: “The Democratic Party has been raped–by the GOP with their appeal to faux patriotism and wartime frenzy; and by the media who used the full power of the Fourth Estate to spin, spin, spin for the GOP.”
• Darlene Weesner, an unsuccessful candidate for county office in Florida: “Marion County is now under siege by the Gestapo, and the Fuhrer is the leader of the Republican Party. All I can tell you is the community is missing out on the wonderful plans I had in store for all of us.”
• Ira Hozinsky, in a published e-mail to bilious blogger Eric Alterman: “The reason for the Republican triumph is simple: the American people are stupid.”
• “Steve” of St. Paul, Minn., in a Boston Globe online reader forum: “…the world sees America for what it is: an over-indulgent, self-righteous, arrogant nation drowning in its own pride. Since the President asked, I will answer: I am with the terrorists.”

On the other side of the leftwing coin, David Corn puts the blame where it belongs:

The Democrats should be sued for malpractice–or nonpractice. A sluggish economy, corporate scandals, deteriorating 401(k)s–they took advantage of none of it.

At least we’ve got a little sensible dialog still.

Here’s another Dan Walters column on Pelosi and Bush:

The danger that looms for Bush over the next two years, as he readies his re-election campaign, is that with control of the White House and both houses of Congress, he and other Republicans will be held accountable for everything. And if events turn sour — if the economy crashes, the confrontation with Iraq goes badly or Republicans simply overreach — they will have no one to blame but themselves. And Pelosi and the Democrats will be certain to drive home the point.

By the same token, with Democrats in equally strong control of the California state government, thanks to last week’s election, they, too, will be held accountable for all matters negative in the state. And Republicans will gleefully point to Sacramento as an example of what could happen if Pelosi and the Democrats recapture Washington.

As strange as it may seem, Dems are seriously kicking Davis around as a potential challenger to Bush in ’04. It’s not as strange as it may seem, given that the upcoming race, as it now stands, is a job for a sacrificial lamb. Having chosen one such animal from California – Pelosi – why not another one in the form of Davis?

Dan Walters tackles the LA Times exit polls, and discovers the meaning of California’s election results:

As turnout plummeted to a historic low level — far fewer than 50 percent of registered voters and scarcely a third of the 21 million potentially eligible voters — the number of voters willing to back Davis also plunged. Nearly 5 million Californians voted for Davis in 1998, but scarcely 3 million did this year — less than 10 percent of the state’s population.

A Los Angeles Times exit poll of voters found that just 40 percent of them approved of Davis’ gubernatorial performance. His vote percentage, 47 percent, was virtually identical to the proportion of voters who identified themselves as Democrats.

Republican Bill Simon’s 42 percent, by the same token, was just above the 40 percent of voters who were Republicans. In the main, therefore, Davis got the Democratic voters and Simon got the Republican voters, and there were a few more of the former than the latter.

Ten percent of Californians voted for Davis, and that was enough to re-elect. Sad.

Dan Walters, dean of the Sacramento press corps, laments the state of our politics in this state:

If we don’t do something, California politics will continue to deteriorate into a game for rich people, ideological warriors, professional insiders and very narrow interests, and public policy will reflect their priorities, not those of a fast-growing and fast-changing state.

He offers a concise laundry list of reforms, all sensible, including ideas that will help bring more moderate candidates into the process and reform the incumbency-protection racket that has been legislative district definition since Phil Burton’s day. Dan’s well worth reading.

That’s what the comments call Daily Pundit’s treatment of Robert P. George’s article in NRO.
George wrote:

At the top of the list is antiterrorism and national security. But there is more, including tax reform and economic growth, enhanced legal protection for the unborn, partially born, and newly born, a ban on all forms of human cloning, and passage of the president’s faith-based initiative.

and Daily converted it to:

At the top of the list is…enhanced legal protection for the unborn, partially born, and newly born, a ban on all forms of human cloning, and passage of the president’s faith-based initiative.

We report, you decide. Daily voted for Simon in the Republican primary, BTW.

Breathtaking stupidity from Paul Krugman:

Democrats should complain as loudly about the real conservative bias of the media as the Republicans complain about its entirely mythical liberal bias; that will help them get their substantive message across. But first they have to have a message.

…writing in the New York Times. No real liberal bias there, of course.

Democrats opted for permanent minority status in the House today, selecting Frisco Democrat Pelosi as their leader:

Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California secured victory in the race for House Democratic leader on Friday when her only formal rival conceded defeat and offered an endorsement.

Democratic Party, RIP.