Posted on 05/06/2004 9:23:42 PM PDT by canuck_conservative
Can't we all just get along?
Not these days. Not if you're a Republican facing a Democrat in the Senate, where one lawmaker says the people's business isn't getting done because "gotcha" politics "has poisoned the atmosphere."
In fact, should the trend continue, "the Constitution is not going to work as it was intended to work," warns Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).
"The sharpness of this poisoned atmosphere of excessive partisanship and excessive ideological rigidity has made it very difficult for this government to function," he says.
Under the Constitution, the separation of powers is a check and a balance against each other, but that's beginning to erode, he says, unlike when Senate leaders "even within our lifetime - Everett Dirksen, Lyndon Johnson, Mike Mansfield and Bob Dole" - had roost of the place."
THE OTHER VICTIMS
As President Bush was giving interviews to two Arab TV networks about the apparently small number of U.S. military personnel that humiliated Iraqi prisoners, the National Center for Public Policy Research posted a letter from Army Spc. Joe Roche, whose 1st Armored Division is part of a quick-deployment task force that handles sudden eruptions by enemy forces within Iraq.
The letter reads: "I went to breakfast and dinner at the dining hall here. It is huge, hundreds of soldiers gathered to eat. Around us are large-screen TVs, and yes, the news was mostly about the prison abuse. Everyone is so angry. I mean, angry! It is as if those soldiers hurt us more than the enemies here in Iraq have. ..."
"As you know, we have done raids and captured some of the top terrorists in Baghdad over the past months. In all of those, we handled the enemy with respect. Our big bosses always pressed us on the Geneva Convention rules before raids, and we have taken many classes on ROEs (rules of engagement) and on the proper treatment of prisoners. ... My battalion has caught car bombers, weapons' smugglers, and those laying (land mines) to kill us. We've even captured in raids those who fired mortars at our base on Baghdad Island. And every time we treated them with respect and took care to give them full medical treatment, food and clothing."
The Army specialist ended by recalling when two of his fellow soldiers were hit by a land mine while riding in a military convoy. One was rescued, the other pinned inside.
"They don't know if he was alive as he burned, but (U.S. troops) had to watch," he wrote. "When the (vehicle) blew, across the street were (Iraqi) neighborhood people cheering. They cheered as our fellow American burned and the other one was dragged out. The soldiers, all of them seeing the tragedy of the attack, and seeing the sick group cheering across the street, they all held their composure. No one fired a shot; no one did anything inappropriate. They did exactly as they were trained."
REACHING PEOPLE
Actress Drew Barrymore is filming a documentary aimed at persuading young people to vote. She recently happened upon members of the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com, the conservative grass-roots network, as they conducted a Washington protest.
"Can I ask you guys a question?" Barrymore said. "You come out and you protest. Do you feel that it makes a difference? Do you feel that you reach people?"
Group leader Kristinn Taylor answered: "We used to do this down at the White House every Saturday for a couple years when Bill Clinton was there. It goes like this" - and here Taylor turned to his (cq) fellow Freepers, to have them join in the chant. "You guys ready? One, two, three: 'Bill Clinton, we have you surrounded! Drop the cigar, step away from the intern, and come out with your pants up.' "
"Wow," said the actress.
"The first time we did that," Taylor said, "the Secret Service officer who was working the gate started laughing so hard he doubled over and walked behind the guard shack to compose himself."......
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
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