Taking Charge
13 November 2006 9:28 am by Taylor Marsh
Steny Hoyer was just interviewed on MSNBC saying he has the votes to win majority
leader. This could get interesting before it's all over. Murtha's experiencing
some serious push back on his march towards becoming leader.
One thing is clear, however, and that's that the Democrats are now in charge
and Republicans are completely and totally muted. I'm not talking about just
in Washington either.
Put another way, Mommy is taking over because Daddy screwed up.
Nancy Pelosi is a case in point. Despite attacks on her fitness to lead in
a time of war, voters made her the first female speaker of the House. The
belief that Dems, as the “nanny” party, are squishy on security
was trumped by fury at the Bush administration's incompetence in Iraq. Voters
now view the parties almost equally in terms of security. Even the best Republican
candidates in 2008 – John McCain and Rudy Giuliani – will have an uphill battle
because of Bush's legacy.The extent of the new Dem power goes beyond the congressional results. State
politics across the country went decidedly blue, with over 275 seats and nine
legislative chambers switching from GOP to Democratic control. Dems took six
governors' chairs from Republicans, giving them 28 of 50, their first majority
since 1994. …
Yep, mommy's taking the helm, and daddy's along for the ride right now.
We've got two years to solidify our gains into deeds manifesting in the minds of the American
people. But being mommy isn't enough today. Our daddy streak must show strongly in our actions on Iraq, where Bush isn't going to move easily. There will
have to be serious pushing to get the president to come along, which will require more than the current impression of mommy style power. Somewhere along the way the mommy party, as Dems are known, will have to show the warrior inside all of us. After all, we are at war.
But on the day Congress reconvenes, Senator Levin let it be known we are going to begin redeploying. So, Mr. Bush, get prepared. There is a new boss in town, the American people and Dems are going to make sure the vote is heard through action.
