Resolved:
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), member of Tom DeLay’s ruthless House leadership team, is prohibited from joining calls by Congressional Republicans asking the new Democratic leadership to play nice.
To be clear, I do not begrudge Republicans in general from issuing those requests. By and large, I’d even agree with them: the Democrats must seize this opportunity to reform the poisonous legislative climate that has evolved over the past 12 years, and restore some measure of fairness and openess to the system.
But folks like Rep. Cantor have absolutely no right to talk about Democrats’ “old abusive practices,” given that he was a crucial part of an unprecedentedly vicious political machine that gleefully steamrolled even the formalities of including the minority party. Although Cantor (like myself) is Jewish, I still think he might want to read about dealing with specks before logs.
7 Responses to “Resolved:”
I think the minority bill of rights are reasonable. And I suspect that Pelosi will honor them much of the time. However if the Republicans do not act in good faith and merely seek to sabotage the building of consensus or to embarrass others for political gain then I would expect Pelosi to close the door on them. It is too bad that the GOP did so much damage to trust and collaboration.
Sometimes, it takes a big man to forgive his fellow man for being unforgivably contentious.
I think we should try on for size anyone who’s willing to at least speak of the new gospel of amicability, no matter if they are being synchophantic lickspittles. Let’s give them time to prove it in the future, not judge them for the past.
Let’s give them time to prove it in the future, not judge them for the past.
No, let’s not.
Of course we should “judge them for the past.” That’s called “learning from experience,” and it’s a handy survival technique.
It’s the GOP that poisoned the well. It’s the GOP’s responsibility to prove they can figure out how to “play nice,” not the Democrats responsibility to simply trust that the GOP will do so. Esp. since the GOP has kept the leadership that made the last Congress such a hideosity – hardly a gesture of good faith, y’know?
CaseyL, my gut reaction is to agree. But I don’t think that’s the smart reaction, or the right reaction. Specifically, I do think it’s the Democratic Party’s responsibility to improve the situation on Capitol Hill – that’s the leadership I think the American people were grasping for when they turned Congress over to them.
Still, I completely agree with David’s post reacting to those poor Republican victims of Democratic abuse. (Hint to Republican congresscritters: It’s way too soon to be playing the victim card, and Americans don’t like whiners much, anyway.)
I’ve heard the Dems intend to start out at least, by blocking Republican “interference” with Pelosi’s “100 hours” plan. I can live with it. Having lived through the past 12 years? Oh yeah, I can live with it. But I do expect the Democrats to make a serious effort to work across the aisle, as well as with the White House. They’ll have to, if they don’t want to repeat the mistakes of their vanquished foe.
This site is often an enigma to me. On the one hand, the site is about moderation in politics, but there’s always this undercurrent of vindictiveness that’s almost palpable. I don’t blame people for that, passion is useful, but I do wonder why they search for courtesy and kindness with one hand, but refuse to dispense it with the other.
If you guys have trouble being magnanimous now, imagine how tough it will be to justify magnanimity in return when the cup passes from the democrats again one day.
(try this for the second time around, my apologies for double post if it happens)
Two points:
1. Whatever happened to this so called Bill of Rights in 2004 that the Republicans are clamoring for now?
2. Secondly, there has to be repentance before there could be forgiveness. The Republicans, who are still part of Congress when the deeds of running roughshod over the Democrats, have not yet shown the waywardness of their own folly; and they are bellyaching about what happened 13 plus years ago?
I agree that there has to be some sort of cordial and respect to be shown to all members of Congress and enable everyone to let their voices to be heard in the laws passed, but the point is that something that happened thirteen years ago does not equate similar treatment these three had done just last year.
I will try this for the third time …
There can be no forgiveness without repentance. In fact they proceed to shift the blame for what Democrats had done thirteen years ago, when the Republicans were just as bad one year ago (and all three were a part of the majority group from one year ago). I do wonder why the Pelosi document was scuttled 2.5 years ago that these three are trying to raise the standard to? The purge by Delay and his cohorts blocking the Democrats out of power was not just in the political arena but also the business offices that worked with Congress. Granted I would really like to have everyone be civil and respectful of each other, even if the two parties do not agree.