Another Democratic Stumble

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Politics.
Sep 18th, 2009 | 4 responses

If your foes insist there’s an elephant in the room and it isn’t the elephant that symbolizes their party, how does it help you to keep raising the issue of the supposed elephant in the room? This was an issue big in the beltway on talk radio. Average Americans aren’t heatedly discussing it at the cooler (if those still exist) or Starbucks (if they can still find one).

4 Responses to “Another Democratic Stumble”

1. DLS says:

   September 18, 2009 at 11:38 am

   You keep raising the issue at your own expense, obviously.
2. Leonidas says:

   September 18, 2009 at 12:12 pm

   Also kinda silly as they are counting peple and not positions, for example they count 5 people as AIDS Czars rather than just 1 Czar for the position. Now if they had claimed 31 insead of 47 they might have a point.

   BTW kudos to Russ Feingold (my favorite Progressive because he is ethically clean and did no earmarking).

   http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27265…

   Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin joined the anti-czar chorus Wednesday, asking Obama to detail the roles and responsibilities of all of the czars in his administration and to explain why he believes the use of czars is consistent with the Senate’s constitutional power to offer advice and consent on top-level executive branch officials.

   “To the extent that this undercuts that role and people are put in the place of Cabinet people and really are the key authorities and you can’t question them, that’s something worth talking about,” Feingold said. “I think it’s a fair point.”

   Feingold says he doesn’t know if there are any constitutional violations, but he suggested that he may hold an oversight hearing on the matter.

   Now if the DNC can spare time from its ad making schedule) and they and democrats in Congress would address Feingold's concerns, we might get somewhere.

   For those keeping score Wiki says:

   George W. Bush 2001–2009 31
   Barack Obama 2009– 32
3. DaGoat says:

   September 18, 2009 at 1:13 pm

   Sounds like a great DLC position “Obama! Not quite as bad as Bush!”.
4. casualobserver says:

   September 18, 2009 at 5:00 pm

   Not only is this comparison ineffectual at scoring points, but doesn't anyone else sense the left/liberal/Dem offense is more and more reduced every day to tu quoque argumentation……here and elsewhere?

   I think it is pretty much getting to “game over” for the Dem legislative agenda. Despite Obama playing to his best strength last week, there is zero momentum only a few days later and so how is cap and trade and immigration going to have any chance at all with out any intimidating political capital to spend on it?