Democratic Overreach, Part II
Democrats once more failed to deliver on a promised blow to the Bush administration. Earlier this evening, they followed their failure to block Iraq war funding with a failure to press ahead on a no-confidence vote against Alberto Gonzales:
Senate Democrats fell short this afternoon in their effort to hold a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales but still registered a strong, if symbolic, rebuke of the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.The Senate voted 53 to 38 to end debate and allow a vote on the no-confidence motion itself. Since 60 votes were required to shut off the debate, or invoke cloture, supporters of the motion were lacking seven votes. But Mr. Gonzales’s critics could console themselves with the knowledge that they mustered a majority, and that several Republicans sided with them .
The outcome left the attorney general’s critics in Congress uncertain about what to do next in their campaign to dislodge him from office. Congress cannot remove a Cabinet member except by impeachment, so the no-confidence motion would have been non-binding.
It's an exceedingly silly maneuver; no-confidence motions, as Trent Lott explained, have no meaning outside of the Parliamentary model. Democrats would have done better by simply pushing a non-binding resolution expressing disapproval of Gonzales' performance. They may have won half of the Republican caucus with that kind of action, as Gonzales has few backers outside of the White House now. Instead, the Democrats overreached -- and now look more impotent than ever.
They promised that they would investigate Gonzales and the DoJ and expose criminal wrongdoing. Instead, their investigations have turned up nothing but bad management and incompetence, neither very recommendable but not criminal either. The momentum for the hearings died when Monica Goodling's Fifth Amendment insistence turned out to really be all about self-incrimination rather than hiding any wrongdoing upstairs.
This is the second time the Democrats have overshot the mark. They promised to bring the Iraq war to a close when they won control of Congress. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid called George Bush "arrogant" when he refused to acceded to their demands for withdrawal, but they soon found out that their arrogance surpassed his, and the Constitution. The pair spent 108 days trying to craft a funding supplemental that would force Bush to take responsibility for a withdrawal -- and finally caved when they realized he would not budge.
As Jules Crittenden notes, it's small wonder that Harry Reid's approval rating is half that of the anemic ratings for George Bush. Not only have they failed to end the war, not only have they failed to dislodge an Attorney General who really should resign, they have failed to do anything else -- after five months in power. They not only have become a Do-Nothing Congress, but it seems that they have become an Incapable-Of-Doing-Anything Congress.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on June 11, 2007 9:44 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)
Comments (18)
Posted by jaeger51 | June 11, 2007 10:21 PM
Is this surprising? These are the spiritual inheritors (and in some cases, the very same people) of those who tried to end the Vietnam War by levitating the Pentagon. Of course they'd fail in whatever they try, and I, for one, am grateful. It took Reagan several years to bail us out from 4 years of Jimmy Carter.
Posted by ShochuJohn | June 11, 2007 10:23 PM
" Democrats would have done better by simply pushing a non-binding resolution expressing disapproval of Gonzales' performance. They may have won half of the Republican caucus with that kind of action, as Gonzales has few backers outside of the White House now."
I think you miss the point. The Democrats would have had no better chance of getting rid of Alberto Gonzalez no matter what they called the vote. They control the Senate by the narrowist of margins, after all. What this vote does is establish a paper trial to attack Senate Republicans with. The more than can paint them as compliant toadies to the poisonously unpopular Bush administration. Notce the Republicans who did vote for the bill are all vulnerable. They know they can't afford to get tarred with the Gonzales stench.
Posted by Monkei | June 11, 2007 10:25 PM
call it what you will Captain, but one only needs to take a look at which GOP Senators voted "no confidence" on this AG ... obviously THEY get it since most of them are up for re-election in 2008!
Posted by Rovin | June 11, 2007 11:21 PM
ShochuJohn and Monkei,
The Cap's point is "after five months in power"
these two inept "leaders" have accomplished virtually nothing, nada, ziltch.
How much longer the will democrat party leaders continue to appease their anti-war-get Booosh crowd before the rest of their party gets fed up with inaction and folly?
Then why waste the time re-stating how far to the left the left has gotten, and still look like fools, when more important legislation could be done------like cooling the planet.
Posted by brooklyn | June 12, 2007 3:50 AM
"Gonzales has few backers outside of the White House now"
well actually, if you listened to the conjecture in the Senate, the AG has plenty of backers.
* including many outside of Washington...
what is bizarrely missing, is the record of the Bush AG's Office, which has done some impressive work, long ignored.
Posted by docjim505 | June 12, 2007 5:28 AM
Cap'n Ed wrote:
Not only have they failed to end the war, not only have they failed to dislodge an Attorney General who really should resign, they have failed to do anything else -- after five months in power. They not only have become a Do-Nothing Congress, but it seems that they have become an Incapable-Of-Doing-Anything Congress.
Oh, but to their supporters, this Congress is doing a FABULOUS job. They're Providing Oversight(TM), you see. They're making Republicans go on the record... of their support for the president, who is also the leader of their party. Perhaps more to the point, they're making Republicans go on the record in outright refusing to hand a PR victory to Dingy Harry, Trashcan Chuckie, and the rest of the democrat trash in the Senate. While liberals might be indignant over the refusal of the GOP to pile on that idiot Gonzales, the average conservative voter is likely going to be pleased that the Republicans in the Senate didn't roll over on this one.
If the GOP had a lick of sense or an ounce of spine, they would exploit the dems' almost total lack of accomplishments and make the '08 elections a walkover. Sadly, however, they have done much to prove that they are no more fit for leadership than the filthy democrats, and Bush's inexplicable support for the amnesty bill doesn't help one bit.
Oh, well, let's look on the bright side: if the dems are wasting time with pointless votes, then that means they aren't spending time actually harming the country. A do-nothing Congress is usually a good thing, and with Dingy Harry and SanFran Nan at the helm, it's an outright blessing.
Posted by Scott Malensek | June 12, 2007 6:04 AM
Haven't ended the war
Haven't created a "New Direction in Iraq" (words that will haunt in 08)
Haven't cleaned up corruption on The Hill
Haven't ended or even added accountability to earmarking
Haven't done anything
-oh wait....they passed the min wage gig.
EIGHT MONTHS after being elected, this Democratic Party controlled Congress has shown it never had a plan to accomplish any of its promises.
2008:
No GWB to run an ABB campaign against
Can't rail about Iraq since they'll have had 2yrs to provide their New Direction
Culture of Corruption is an albatross on their necks
What will they run on besides pandered rhetoric, and will the American people reach the elusive, "what? weren't you for that/against that the last time I heard you speak?" moment?
Posted by Rovin | June 12, 2007 6:20 AM
"The Iraqi prime minister has often indicated that he shares many of Washington’s goals, leaving American officials to wonder if some of the lack of progress reflects a lack of follow-through by lower-ranking officials, the inherent difficulties of managing the country with a government under siege or a hidden agenda". (emphasis mine)
By Michael R. Gordon - New York Times
Published: June 12, 2007
One could wonder which country the Iraqi prime minister is refering to? The similarities are striking to say the least.
Posted by ShochuJohn | June 12, 2007 6:23 AM
"Then why waste the time re-stating how far to the left the left has gotten, and still look like fools, when more important legislation could be done------like cooling the planet."
So, the President and his party now believe global warming is real and want to do something about it? Else, as I said, the Democrats have the slimmest majoirty in the Senate and a GOP president. Reid can't accomplish much by himself.
"They're making Republicans go on the record... of their support for the president, who is also the leader of their party."
You got it. The Bush presidency is sinking fast. Better to make sure it goes down with all its enablers still on board.
"If the GOP had a lick of sense or an ounce of spine, they would exploit the dems' almost total lack of accomplishments and make the '08 elections a walkover. "
Except the reason Reid et al are so unpopular is their failure to end the war. Voting for the GOP in response would be out of the frying pan and into the fire would it not? Once again the Dems are saved by the lesser of two evils principle.
"Sadly, however, they have done much to prove that they are no more fit for leadership than the filthy democrats, and Bush's inexplicable support for the amnesty bill doesn't help one bit."
Take the Republican party back from the foolish neocons and put it back in the hands of a real small-government conserverative. Vote Ron Paul!
Posted by Lightwave | June 12, 2007 6:56 AM
Harry Reid's 19% approval rating means that a majority of liberals are disgusted with the man, as well as the moderates and conservatives. That takes some effort to accomplish.
What it portends in 2008 is GOP control of Congress and the White House. Enough Dems are going to vote against the Do Nothing Democrats for failing to deliver on promises that the GOP will sweep the Donks under the rug for decades. An entire generation will look at the Dems and go "Not in my lifetime."
Meanwhile they'll look at the preceding six years and see the best economy this country has ever had, and most of all the fact legislation got passed. "Gee, the GOP got us out of the dot-com recession and post 9/11 doldrums in record time."
But with the President's tax cuts threatening to expire and bring down the economy, voters need to pay attention. Even with only two years in power, the coming budget battle with the Dems may have repercussions for decades.
And oversight? What has this oversight done except waste America's time with a war on?
Posted by bulbasaur | June 12, 2007 7:11 AM
Technically, Nancy Pelosi's 100 hours is still in progress.
You have to learn to think like a democrat: the 100 hour time frame was never supposed to be the actual clock time in the House, it was supposed to be to the CPU time of the computer that logs House votes.
So far, Nancy has used up less then 3 seconds. You just wait, the democrat party always keeps its promises, however surreal.
Posted by Keith | June 12, 2007 7:22 AM
The simple fact that the GOP is celebrating that the new Dems in power were unable to pass a vote of no-confidence in the AG speaks volumes for where today's GOP is! Rock bottom.
While the GOP stands back and pounds their chests at being able to "hold on" to things they should be taking for granted blinds the party faithful as 60 percent of the rest of the nation see it for what it really is, a party still supporting the failed policies of the Bush administration and a democratic party not yet with enough power to take advantage of the situation. 2008 will help thanks to the continued stance and blind support of the President. However this time there will be concrete records of recorded votes by members of congress for the public to view.
Posted by Lynne | June 12, 2007 8:39 AM
If only we the public could've had a 'no confidence' vote in the last election....Perhaps the so-called mandate would've been more clearly understood.
Posted by GOP08_DOA | June 12, 2007 8:49 AM
Ha! What is completely obvious here is that republicans with suffer fools gladly and continue to dick around with what little residual power they have by keeping congress in perpetual gridlock. Yeah, that's gonna win you lots of votes...
Boy's and girls, keep in mind you can't even keep the phone staff at the RNC busy and the best hope you have for 08 is a Hollywood actor with a pathetic congressional record (runs in the family).
The lot of you "conservatives" live on another planet these days, where apparently the last 7 years of republican rule will not be taken into consideration and the horrendous screw ups you've managed over that period just don't count.
Again. Ha! The republican death spiral continues, but y'all have apparenly found another unbelievable reason to celebrate today, after killing the immigration bill, you've decide to prop up an imcompetent AG. Heck of a job republicans!
Posted by OC-Chuck | June 12, 2007 2:52 PM
I think I figured it out:
- Bush is trying to get the Dems in Congress to look stupid and ineffectual (succeeding)
- All of the voters who put the Dems in control of Congress in order to teach the GOP a lesson knew that not much harm would come of it (do nothing congress)
- Bush is frustrating the base in order to get them fired up for someone who could do something with the next Congress (yea Fred!)
Bush is a genius!
Posted by NoDonkey | June 12, 2007 3:09 PM
"with (sic) suffer fools gladly"
And the Democrats are offering three unaccomplished, unqualified nitwits for President. Every GOP candidate resume FAR out trumps the dingbat Democrats. When your most accomplished candidate made his fortune bilking insurance companies as a trial lawyer, you have a losing hand.
"what little residual power they have by keeping congress in perpetual gridlock."
Voters blame the partisan Democrats for the problem and they have plenty of power - enough to keep NancyGirl and Sen. CorpseMan from getting anything done (how's that 19% approval rating grab ya, Sen. Reid?).
The Democrats are unaccomplished, incompetent, traitorous frauds and the Democrat Congress is proving it every single day.
Posted by Del Dolemonte | June 12, 2007 4:39 PM
Lightwave says
"Harry Reid's 19% approval rating means that a majority of liberals are disgusted with the man, as well as the moderates and conservatives. That takes some effort to accomplish."
I wonder what the polling methodology was for this new poll. The pollsters have in the past been busted for over-sampling Democrats to make Bush look bad. I wonder if they over-sampled them here as well?
Posted by The Man | June 12, 2007 7:11 PM
As long as the dems do not have 60 votes in the Senate their policies will fail..period. The war has not come to an end, or been defunded, because republican senators refuse to support it.
The lack of progress on key issues like Iraq fall squarely on the republicans not the dems. Solution...elect more dems and get rid of the republican dinosaurs.