Hey Joe
By Aaron Goldstein (11/09/06)
So where do we go from here?
The Democrats have wrested control of the House of Representatives from the GOP for the first time since 1994. This means Nancy Pelosi ascends to the Speaker’s chair. It also means Steny Hoyer becomes House Majority Leader and left wing stalwarts such as Jack Murtha, Charlie Rangel, John Conyers and Henry Waxman get Committee chairmanships.
Yet most of their gains were in red states where they elected Democrats of the blue dog variety such as Heath Shuler in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Although critical of the War in Iraq, Shuler opposes gay marriage, abortion and gun control. College football fans will remember Shuler from the early 1990s when he was the quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and came within a heartbeat of winning the Heisman Trophy in 1993. He was arguably the greatest quarterback the Volunteers ever saw until one Peyton Manning came along. It is safe to say that Shuler will find fewer obstacles Washington now than when he played under the lights of RFK Stadium when he was with the Redskins.
But make no mistake about it, Pelosi and company will be running the show in the House. Sure, Pelosi pledges that Conyers won’t use the House Judiciary Committee to conduct impeachment hearings against President Bush. Not now at least. She may hold Conyers’ feet to the fire now but pledges have a funny way of losing their shine after a few months. I would not be the least bit surprised Pelosi let Conyers loose in the 12 months prior to the 2008 Presidential election to mobilize a Democratic base still eager for Bush’s scalp even in the throes of victory.
Even if impeachment hearings aren’t in the offing in the immediate future let us remember that Congress spends money and lots of it. But it can also cut spending. One can expect the new House to slash funding for the War in Iraq especially if Jack Murtha is tabbed to be Chair of the House Appropriations Committee as a reward for not challenging Steny Hoyer for House Majority Leader.
Pending a likely recount in Virginia, it appears that the Democrats will also regain control of the Senate. However, a recount cannot begin until after the Virginia State Board of Elections certifies the election on November 27th, nearly three weeks from now. Yes Virginia, we are in for the long haul.
Donald Rumsfeld became the Bush Administration’s first casualty of this electoral tsunami when he announced his resignation although Rummy has wanted out for months, if not years. President Bush has named former CIA Director Robert Gates to succeed Rumsfeld. This will be the Senate’s first test of their post-election commitment to bipartisanship when Gates appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee (unless, of course, the current Committee should meet before the new Congress is sworn in). Depending on the length of the recount in Virginia this might not come to pass until December or possibly the new year. Will new Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin along with Democratic stalwarts Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd prove to be as obstructionist on the majority benches as they were in the minority ones? Or will they act in good faith and promptly recommend Gates be confirmed by the Senate?
If the Armed Services Committee proceeds in the latter direction one can place a great deal of the credit at the doorstep of Joe Lieberman. After being defeated by Ned Lamont in the Connecticut Democratic Primary last summer, Lieberman soundly defeated Lamont in the general election aided in no small part by Republican voters who didn’t appreciate his party casting him aside like day old bread. Although elected as an Independent, Lieberman has indicated he will still caucus with the Democratic Party and with that retain his spot on the Armed Services Committee.
Lieberman’s presence on the Armed Services Committee would not only hasten Gates’ confirmation but his overall presence in the Senate would act as a counterbalance to any House measure that would reduce funding for or result in the abrupt abandonment of our efforts in Iraq.
A critical mass of Americans have become disenchanted with the War in Iraq as they see no end in sight. However, the ascension of the Democrats in Congress should not be construed as an endorsement of the notion that we withdraw our forces from Iraq immediately. Most Americans understand that doing so would make the situation even worse than it already is and recognize the inherent irresponsibility of such a position. However, we have not been able to achieve a stable and democratic Iraq and as the party in power for so many years the Republican Party had to bear some responsibility for this failure. So the American electorate showed their lack of confidence in the Republicans and voted in a Congress more inclined to challenge the Bush Administration. Of course, the Democrats have now been put into the awkward position of actually having to govern. For nearly four years, Democrats have been long on complaints and short on solutions apart from just packing up and leaving. That just isn’t going to cut it. Democrats have now been placed in a position of responsibility and they had better act accordingly. After taking an honest look at all the facts on the ground they might come to the conclusion that, at least in the short term, the necessity might arise to send more troops into Iraq to stomp out the terrorism that has taken root so that it does not expand beyond Iraq’s borders. They could play a constructive role in putting more pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to clip the wings of the Shiite militias under control lest he appear to be nothing more than a puppet of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The White House and a Democratic controlled Congress will inevitably clash and bump heads. If John Paul Stevens retires from the Supreme Court or, heaven forbid, dies then all bets are off. But a Democratic controlled Congress can ill afford to behave in an obstructionist manner concerning Iraq lest they compromise not only the future of the Middle East but national security here at home. This is where someone like Joe Lieberman comes into the picture. On the one hand, a firm supporter of the War in Iraq while on the other hand, recognizing that things are not working and that our tactics on the ground must change instead of just leaving when the going gets tough. Over the next two years, I believe Democrats and Republicans alike will paraphrase the song made famous by Jimi Hendrix when they ask, “Hey Joe, where are you going? Can you lend us a hand?”
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