In 1957 Senator Lyndon Johnson had a problem. He wanted to be elected president but it was apparent that no southern candidate could win the democratic nomination without being made pure on Civil rights. Due to the use of the filibuster (these were they days before 60 vote cloture) the southern democrats were able to block any kind of vote so it was necessary to craft a bill weak enough to keep the democrats from filibustering while not gutting the bill to the point where supporters of civil rights would consider it a scam. Johnson managed in one of the most amazing balancing acts in political history managed to shepherd the Civil Rights act of 1957 through the Senate.
One of the pieces of that puzzle was a vote on the Hell’s Canyon Dam. A freshman Senator Frank Church and other senators from the northwest had been fighting for that dam for years to no effect. Johnson managed to make a deal with those senators that in exchange for the votes needed to remove parts of the Civil Rights Bill (section III) unacceptable to the south, southern senators would provide the votes to get the Hell’s Canyon bill through the senate.
What those senators didn’t realize but Johnson did was the House of Representatives would reject the dam. It would be another 7 years (under President Lyndon Johnson) before the dam would be approved and a full decade before it opened.
Something similar is going on right now with Cap & Trade. President Obama and the House Democratic leadership are looking for a win for political reasons and house democrats leaders are making deals to get the votes they need for passage. Like LBJ of old democrat leaders know they are selling a pig in a poke to their members for their own political benefit on a bill that will not actually help those who it purports to help.
The question remains will the undecided members see through it? Time will tell.
This guy is a Chicago Machine Pol with no achievements and or accomplishments of note before actually winning the White House. What makes you think that such an empty suit is going to be either clean himself or surrounded by clean people?
There was always a chance that he would turn out to be more than he seems, everyone remembers this quote from Eddie McCormack from the 1962 senate campaign in Massachusetts:
“if your name was Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, your candidacy would be a farce.”
McCormack was the AG and the nephew of the speaker of the House of Representatives John McCormack but nobody remembers his second quote part of which applies very well here:
I ask my opponent, What are you qualifications?…You are not running on qualifications. You are running on a slogan…”
(You can find the full quote in the excellent book Man of the House by Tip O’Neil). Now given 20-40 years and onlyone body Teddy has become an effective senator who never met a dollar that he wasn’t willing to spend domestically and never met a foe of America that he wouldn’t support.
Remember it was this same Ted Kennedy who floor managed the 1965 immigration bill andassured us:
“The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs.”
Yup this is the same guy who wantstonationalize healthcarebefore he dies. And remember this guy is the example of the EXCEPTION who might turn out all right.
“Yes we can” is just a slogan. We found out here in Massachusetts that slogans like “Together we can” are no better a basis for successful government than some farcical aquatic ceremony.
As Americans we always get the government we deserve, we are getting what we deserve right now and if this trend continues beyond 2010 and 2012 we will deserve that too.
The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.
“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’
The Democratic-centric crowd laughed.
Of course they did.
It just so happens that right now Governer Palin is on her way to an undisclosed location…to visit the troops:
“She’s traveling overseas. For security purposes, the governor’s office cannot release information until it is cleared by (the Department of Defense),” said Palin’s spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow.
Leighow said Palin is travelling with Craig Campbell, commander of the Alaska National Guard, and Alaska Command Sgt. Maj. Gordon Choat. She said they’ll be going to training exercises, promotion ceremonies and hospitals. Leighow said Palin will be on the trip through the weekend.
Ya wanna laugh about that John? In my opinion she’s worth 10 of him.
Jay Nordlinger hit on something today that is so true that it is painful to read:
Hey, speaking of genocide, what about Sudan? Wanting to come to grips with Darfur, I wrote an article called “About Sudan: What has been done? What can be done?” That was published in National Review four years ago: in the May 23, 2005, issue. I have checked in on Sudan from time to time since. And I really see no need to revise that piece, or to write another one. Hardly anything has changed. Last week I read, “The human rights situation in Sudan is ‘critical,’ an independent U.N. expert said Tuesday, accusing the nation’s government of cracking down on its critics and shielding those responsible for gross violations such as rape, torture and murder.” (For the article, go here.)
Yeah, well when is the “human rights situation” not critical? It has been so for a very, very long time. We all know the drill: After a genocide — Rwanda, say — we say “Never again,” and then after the next one “Never again,” and then after the next one . . .
It would be more seemly, I have often thought, simply to stop declaring “Never again.”
There always seems a reason not to worry about stuff like this, we will provoke them, we want to make constructive change, Oh the Olympics will open up China, oh we need to deal with Cuba to open them up. And of course we can’t say a thing because of Gitmo or because of Abu Graib or because of a revolt in 1955 or because of the evils western civilization etc etc etc…
The average American gets it, the reason why there are holocaust museums today isn’t because of what was done, governments KNEW what was being done and didn’t give a damn. This is why:
It’s because an army of average American SAW it and were outraged. It could not be ignored or explained away. Excuses wouldn’t wash. That is when we chose to pretend that this is why we fought, it had nothing to do with it. It SHOULD have, but it didn’t.
It wasn’t till that moment that we transformed the Nazi’s into the most evil people in the world. The reality is there are plenty of candidates for that title, Stalin & Mao slaughtered millions more yet they are acceptable as leaders in Civilization IV and Hitler isn’t. What is the difference? The difference is it hasn’t been seen firsthand by tens of thousands of Americans. This allows intellectuals and political types to explain things away, to be “realistic”, to not interfere.
The American soldiers who fought in Iraq and found the mass graves there (that are still being found) get it, but for our political class other considerations will always rule.
It is also why the left will always hate president Bush. 9/11 may have been the impetus but in the end in at least one place in the world the mass graves were stopped and he was responsible and still doesn’t apologize for it.
We are going say little and do less while these people are slaughtered. It’s what we are doing with Sudan and it is what we will do the next time and the time after that. This might seem odd but it’s not about saving slaughtered people; it’s about being able to say you care and convince others you care while doing nothing.
Ah the joys of self esteem.
Update: You know on reflection I’m being unfair. There is a lot of solid outrage against the Mullahs on the left blogs. I think my attack on the administration is correct and those who compare the mullahs to the last administration are frankly loons however that doesn’t describe the majority of the blogs on the left who have supported the people of Iran yearning to be free. I’ve given a wrong impression of the majority opinion on the left on this issue.
So I apologize, my bad.
Update 2: The Iranians have gotten worse:
From the live blogger’s eyewitness account:
>More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq.
>Army Helicopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.
>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists
>The crowd have moved to the south of baharestan, the situation is bad, the shooting has started
>In Baharestan Sq. in the Police shooting, A girl is shot and the police is not allowing to let them help
>In Baharestan we saw militia with axe chopping people like meat – blood everywhere – like butcher
This is the Iranian regime, wading into its own unarmed people and axing them to death, bludgeoning women (seen as the greatest threat to the regime) and throwing them to their deaths from pedestrian bridges. The same Iranian regime whose embassy officials are invited to American embassies around the world to celebrate on July 4th, of all things, a successful revolution.
Yesterday’s left-wing conventional wisdom: We can’t jeopardize diplomacy by taking a meaningless moral stand! Today’s left-wing conventional wisdom: Obama has taken a bold moral stand against regime abuses!
