Why the Democrats Caved (On the Surveillance Bill)

Real Clear Politics ^ | August 10, 2007 | E. J. Dionne

[Darkwolf377]

At one point, according to participants in the Pelosi meeting, the passionate discussion veered toward the idea of standing up to the administration -- even at the risk of handing President Bush a chance to bash Democrats on "national security," as is his wont.

Can the democrats point to ONE American whose life has been seriously distrubed in any way by our use of surveillance post-9-11?

A simple question. I wonder if the dems can answer simply.

[Darkwolf377]

The Republicans have never met a national security issue they're not willing to politicize.

cough...sputter...gasp...

And the Democrats DON'T politicize national security????

[NRG1973]

In my humble opinion, the Dems have made their plight even worse by letting this legislation sunset in 6 months. The reality is that 6 months from now the whole process will repeat itself with the legislation being re-approved by Congress and the left-wing will go nuts again. The Dems would have been better off to approve the legislation for a few years and then they would only have to deal with a PO’d base once. This is now the gift that keeps on giving.

[wayoverontheright]

E. J. never answers his own question, as to why the Democrats caved on this. The answer is.....the recent and rapidly growing success of the surge in Iraq.

There, that's pretty simple isn't it? The Party bet on the wrong side in this war, and thus find themselves facing a train wreck. The DLC is emboldened, and is now taking over. The moderates in the party are now speaking up, probably words to the effect of "I told you so...."

[b4its2late]

[libs_kma]

"The Republicans Democrats have never met a national security any issue they're not willing to politicize."

Fixed it.

[teddyballgame]

“something doesn’t add up here.”

Democrats are trying to defend the indefensible. They actually contemplated arguing against a stronger surveilence program to thwart terrorism. They’re stupid but not that stupid. This is what happens when you have no convictions, when it comes time to vote you don’t know what to do.

[bert]

and, they get another crack at it in 6 months.

We have congressionally imposed government by weekly meeting and quarterly policy change.

[untrained skeptic]

Pelosi and Reid simply didn't have the votes to pass a more restrictive bill, and the bill that was passed did have the votes.

The Dems who opposed this could have filibustered it in the Senate, but that would have likely been even more embarrassing to their party.

The media and the Dems have mischaracterized this program in their attempts to attack Bush, and that is now backfiring on them. They lied to the moonbat left about this and now those moonbats feel betrayed.

The Dems have gotten to where they are by lying and blindly opposing Bush. Attacking someone else dishonestly puts you in a bad position when it is your turn to lead. If the Dems don't find a way to disguise their own incompetence things will not go well for them in '08.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

The reality is that 6 months from now the whole process will repeat itself with the legislation being re-approved by Congress and the left-wing will go nuts again. ....... This is now the gift that keeps on giving.

[AFPhys]

“...Several members ... expressed openness to having Congress stay in town to fight... But the moment passed... [and] the House sent the president a bill that, as a disgusted Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) put it, with just a touch of exaggeration, “makes Alberto Gonzalez the sheriff, the judge and the jury.”

“Politically, Republicans won this round in two ways. They got the president the bill he wanted and, as a result, they created absolute fury in the Democratic base. Pelosi has received more than 200,000 e-mails of protest, according to an aide, for letting the bill go forward. ...

“Democrats concede they made an enormous tactical blunder by not dealing with the issue earlier, forcing the question to the fore in the days before the recess”
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ROTFLMPO ... I used to think that the Republicans were more incompetent about politics than the Demodogs... This Congress is changing my mind!

[AFPhys]

It adds up. It is called strategery and Bush has been using it since 2001. He has beaten the Democrats on pretty much everything in the last 6 years. Meanwhile, we call him stupid everytime he does something that upsets the base.
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Yup.

[Phsstpok]

Don King is making the rounds of the talk shows promoting something (probably just himself) but one of his action lines is that President George Walker Bush took the lame out of lame duck.

[gogeo]

Is EJ whining about the big bad Wepubwicans again?

[darth]

Two more facelifts and she’ll be wearing a goatee!

[txroadkill]

eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[okie01]

"Could something happen over August?" Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) asked in an interview. "Sure it could. What bothered me is that too many Democrats allowed that fear to turn into a demand for some atrocious legislation."

It voting for it because "something could happen in August" was a good idea, why wouldn't voting for it because "something could happen in September...or October...or November...or next year" be a good idea, too?

These people are increasingly revealing their true selves. And it ain't pretty...