Can someone tell me what the hell just happened with the Gonzo story?
Seriously, what better way is there to reinforce the notion that Democrats are spineless wimps than to filibuster (at the drop of a hat, no less) a meaningless, insignificant, nonbinding resolution that has already been declared moot by the one guy it would theoretically make a difference to?
Democrats in congress, I am ashamed of you. This stupid ordeal is the straw that broke the camel's back.
If you care to win back my vote, you can read my suggestions below the fold. For all others, a tasty rant.
First of all, the whole "No Confidence" thing? Absolute waste of time. Pure political theater. The result of the vote didn't even matter, and everyone knew it going in. So you express no confidence in the acting attorney general. Big Whoop, life goes on. Your time is better spent on more important matters. Maybe instead of expressing your reservations about Gonzo holding prosecutorial powers, you should do something about them. Hint: starts with "I", has a fruit in the middle.
And even worse - despite the utterly pointless nature of this resolution, the minority party filibusters it? Let me get this straight - you guys didn't want to rock the boat to filibuste an Alito nomination, which brought us dangerously close to a supreme court with the conservative fundamentalist notion that women ought be brood mares and just shut up about it. You wouldn't use the filibuster to stop the military commission act, which threw habeus corpus in the gutter and peed on it. But when the shoe is on the other foot, the loyal opposition will use the tactic on the tiniest little bill that doesn't specifically benefit them and their base?
Pathetic. Utterly pathetic. You have given the president what he wanted on the war with no enforceable benchmarks or oversight for three more months, because you are too afraid of your own political shadow to do what's right. There has been no meaningful progress toward the restoration of our Congressional rights. You continue to turn a blind eye toward the glaring neon signs being held up by over 50% of the electorate that read like the latest Neil Young album cover. My own democratic legislators are sponsoring bills to neuter environmental standards in other states in the name of American competitive advantage, despite the idiocy of sticking your head in globally warmed sand.
Enough. I'll have no more of it. If you want me, and I imagine millions of disenchanted independents like me, to throw your candidate du jour our vote come next cycle you need to straighten out those vertebrae and do the following.
- You are no longer allowed to listen to any right wing talk radio. It does not matter what they say. Rush will slam you no matter what you do. Hannity will always find a way to call you wimps. It is we, the people, who mandated congressional majority for you, and it is we, the people who will decide your fate based on your actions and your voting record. Don't listen, don't appear, don't respond to the right wing spin machine. They are the Polonius to your Claudius; The Wormtongue to your Theoden. Just ignore it, and leave the 28% who love it to stew in their own juice.
- Find a testicular horticulturist and grow a pair. You don't need to tack your bills onto legislation that panders to the right. The public wants a minimum wage increase. Republicans interfere with it at their political peril. There is no need to rider it in with war spending. Last time the Republicans amended the proposal with poison pills. This time you stuck it IN a poison pill, turning a potentially moderate positive into a significant negative.
- Fight, Dammit! Republicans portray a strong image by being mean and nasty. You don't put up your dukes when your opponent is aiming for your crotch. Don't bring a knife to a loving gunfight. They slander you, you slander them right back. They want to cry and bawl on the senate floor, you call them a pussy. They filibuster legislation that's good for America, you question their patriotism. You ram progressive bills down their throats and dare them, DARE them, to filibuster or veto. And make damn sure the public knows what the bill means. Air America has a bunch of hosts ready and willing to take your call. Daily Kos is open format. Use it, and leave the spin in DC.
- I want the skeletons in their closet out for the world to see. I want vigorous, aggressive investigations tootsweet. I want our Constitution back. I want subpoenas handed out like pez from a special black-suit edition spiderman dispenser, with lovely little bobbed impeachment tails for the criminals among you.
Trust me, it's for your own good. You're digging your own political grave right now. Put down the shovel already.
Update
Well, looky there. The day after I post an indignant rant, the House makes me eat crow by issuing subpoenas for senior White House staff. Way to go, Congressman Conyers!