House ushers in new "leaders"
November 17th 2006 20:52
It has been a busy week for the empty suits in Washington. New leaders were installed in the House by the Democrats (now the majority party) and the Republicans (now in the minority). I was hoping that the pols would have taken a hint from last week's election that it is now time for new blood, new ideas, and new leaders who are free of the scandals and wastefulness of the past. I guess that was something of a pipe dream. Both parties have already started out on the wrong foot, despite abyssmal approval ratings and an outcry for some real change.
The Democratics chose Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) to be the new Speaker of the House. While that doesn't thrill me, it was pretty much expected. And for the House Majority Leader, the number two position? It was between Steny Hoyer (D - MD) and Jack Murtha (D - PA). Hoyer is one of the main K Street solicitors for the Democratic Party. And Murtha is one of the biggest pork (i.e., wasteful, money-grubbing) spenders in Congress. Oh, yeah -- and he was also sullied by his involvement with the ABSCAM scandal in the late 1970's and early 1980's. THESE TWO are the best the Democrats have to offer? They're supposed to be the ones who will bring back an ethical Congress? Yeah, right. Pull this leg and it plays jingle bells. Anyway, Hoyer did win the number two position, but, needless to say, I'm not optimistic that the Democratics will keep their hands out of the cookie jars (or the bank vaults) with these folks in charge.
One the other side of the aisle, you would think that the beatdown the Republicans took last week would have spurred them to start fresh with new blood and new leadership. But, nooooooooo. The House Republicans chose two of it's old leaders to be it's new leaders. John Boehner (R - OH) was named House Minority Leader and Roy Blunt (R - MO) was named the minority whip. Does anyone really think that the party leaders who presided over a scandal-filled, free-spending House can turn this thing around for the Republicans? Well, let's just say that I have my doubts.
I guess the fix is in, folks. The American people - tens of millions of Americans - tried to send a message that they were fed up with the shenanigans that have dominated the House for the last few years. They "threw the bums out" only to have them replaced with new bums. And it looks like the old bums are still too drunk with self-delusion to make the real changes they need to pull themselves out of the gutter. It's sad and I hate it for the country. We all deserve better.
The Democratics chose Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) to be the new Speaker of the House. While that doesn't thrill me, it was pretty much expected. And for the House Majority Leader, the number two position? It was between Steny Hoyer (D - MD) and Jack Murtha (D - PA). Hoyer is one of the main K Street solicitors for the Democratic Party. And Murtha is one of the biggest pork (i.e., wasteful, money-grubbing) spenders in Congress. Oh, yeah -- and he was also sullied by his involvement with the ABSCAM scandal in the late 1970's and early 1980's. THESE TWO are the best the Democrats have to offer? They're supposed to be the ones who will bring back an ethical Congress? Yeah, right. Pull this leg and it plays jingle bells. Anyway, Hoyer did win the number two position, but, needless to say, I'm not optimistic that the Democratics will keep their hands out of the cookie jars (or the bank vaults) with these folks in charge.
One the other side of the aisle, you would think that the beatdown the Republicans took last week would have spurred them to start fresh with new blood and new leadership. But, nooooooooo. The House Republicans chose two of it's old leaders to be it's new leaders. John Boehner (R - OH) was named House Minority Leader and Roy Blunt (R - MO) was named the minority whip. Does anyone really think that the party leaders who presided over a scandal-filled, free-spending House can turn this thing around for the Republicans? Well, let's just say that I have my doubts.
I guess the fix is in, folks. The American people - tens of millions of Americans - tried to send a message that they were fed up with the shenanigans that have dominated the House for the last few years. They "threw the bums out" only to have them replaced with new bums. And it looks like the old bums are still too drunk with self-delusion to make the real changes they need to pull themselves out of the gutter. It's sad and I hate it for the country. We all deserve better.
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Comment by Eric
Mal Gadget
That's the money line right there. Most voters decided to try and choose the lesser of two evils and quickly realized that both evils came from the same hell.
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate