No wonder Democrats are tripping over themselves to denounce the bonuses paid to AIG executives. They’rre trying to try to deflect attention from their votes to guarantee such bonuses (when they voted for the “stimulus” which included a provision doing just that).
Michael Barone sees their grandstanding as a “moment of panic for House Democrats” and presenting an opportunity for Republicans:
This was a moment of panic for House Democrats. Almost all of them, and not a single House Republican, had voted for the stimulus package which specifically authorized such bonus payments. A bill that no one was given the opportunity to actually read. You don’t have to be a political genius to see what peril that poses for just about every Democratic incumbent and the opportunity it presents for every Republican candidate.
Emphasis added.
The fact that Democrats rushed the passage of this multi-hundred billion dollar boondoggle is going to hurt them as much as the bill’s content.
What Ann Althouse said about Chris Dodd will soon apply to those Democrats who voted for the “stimulus.” The Connecticut Democrat contended he would have rejected a provision allowing for AIG bonuses had he “known at the time that there were any A.I.G. bonuses involved.” Senator, it’s your job to to know what’s involved in the legislation your vote for and propose. That’s what your constituents elect you to do.
And Althouse said Dodd’s was an “impossibly lame excuse. It’s his job to know. He holds a public trust. Which he doesn’t deserve.”
That applies to all those who voted for the “stimulus,” particularly those grandstanding about the AIG bonuses. And who knows what else they find cause to criticize when the public becomes aware of other provisions slipped into the “stimulus.”
But will the Republicans take advantage of the golden opportunity being presented to them on a silver platter? Will they air campaign ads that could almost be written by themselves? Will they make the necessary comparisons and simultaneously take the high road while deflecting criticism that negative campaigning is taking the low road? Do they want to win? Do they miss their all-too-short-lived bout with majority status or are they satisfied to remain the minority party, the conscience sitting on the shoulder of the giant realpolitik?
Filtered. (Damn — the filter is in overdrive today.)
The Democrats have put themselves on a “horns of a dilemma” by trusting their leadership on this issue. They mistakingly believed their leaders could do no wrong – oops…someone screwed the pouch. They signed off on the bill. Unfortunately, they did read the bill and tah dah!!! – the allowance for bonuses was written into the bill. The only other option – that they knew about it – oops, we are busted.
“But will the Republicans take advantage of the golden opportunity being presented to them on a silver platter?”
Do they ever?
Even when in power of all three branches they break their backs bending over and reaching across the aisles, though they know that such reaching only earns them a broken arm.
Until the leftist “Republicans” are purged, I don’t see much point in hoping for them to stand up against evil.
Dumb as a rock in Rockingham County NC Congressman Brad Miller voted for the AIG bailouts and is now all over youtube acting outraged for the folks back home. Fool even has a youtube video of his phony outrage on his website.
I forgot to add that other North Carolina jewel, Senator Kay Hagan. She also did what she was told and voted yes for the AIG bonuses.
The demagoguacrats go into full demonization mode and then ….. EPIPHANY !!!! …. “discover” they own 80% of the company they are trying to wreck!
Andrew (son of Mario the Pius) Cuomo decides that maybe putting a hit list out on the AIG execs would not be such a good idea, since the drooling faction of the demagoguacrats are already threatening to murder them and their children.
A New England based genius has come up with a plan to offer a bus tour past the homes of the AIG bonus recipients. Alinsky style community organizing at its best. Arm the mob with pitchforks and torches and set them loose, ACORN style, to organize the community. We are only missing the Jacobins and the Girondins. Soon, we will add a Committee of Public Safety to Homeland Security.
I can’t help but to bring to mind the remarks of our diplomat in France as the revolution began. Gouverneur Morris asked of the feuding leftists: “Are they indignant that any others should exceed them in marks of indignity?”
The demagoguacrats are hankering after destruction of the existing order, but true to form, they will fracture into factions all striving to be the center of power, while each is consumed with conspiring and reacting to conspiracy.
The question before us is whether the Congress will start acting like a separate branch of government or whether they will continue to do the Messiah’s bidding. And then the question is whether the Congress is more radical than the Messiah.
The Congressional Republicans already lead now in the generic question..”who will you vote for next election in your district, the Rep or Dem”. The Republican Campaign Committee has $24 M in the bank the Democrat Committee is broke. The Republicans should run some ads now hanging this around the Obamateleprompter Democrats necks.
A BILL THAT NO ONE HAD TIME TO READ is a key point and one that was made by many Republicans in the well of the House before the vote. This one is as easy to understand as the House Bank scandal which led to the demise of 40 year Democrat rule in 1994. You can taint the whole “change and hope, yes we can, we know how to do it better” mantra right now and for the next 4 years. I was wishing our new President well, the future of the country was in the balance. I didn’t expect the incompetent boobs, crooks, cheats, and morons. Some journalist needs to investigate to see if the hands of the Clintons are involved in making the Obamaphiles look so bad here. Is it possible they are involved?
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_ballot/generic_congressional_ballot
And Obamateleprompter polls are falling fast. Maybe more Leno, Letterman apparences should be scheduled? Or would the people prefer he stay in Washington DC and actually try to end his recession, encourage his legislature to READ the bills they are passing, discourage the passing of UNCONSTITUTIONAL bills, that kind of thing. You know, be a LEADER.
Obamateleprompter only gets a +4 gap between his STRONGLY APPROVE and strongly dissapprove polling numbers. The worst of his Presidency. Like the Jimmy Carter experiment, this one seems to be going south fast.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
#7 what if a conservative organized a tour of outrage of the Washington DC homes of Frank, Dodd, Geithner, Napalatano, Biden, etal.
#12 I’m not for that kind of thing by the way. It frightens children, the innocent and even morons and idiots deserve a sanctuary.
I nominate Gene to run the RNC.
So where’s the “unity” in Chairman Obama inciting mobs to threaten and harrass private citizens?
The Barney Frank rant last week was worse. He wants the names, the names damn it, of those that took bonuses and are going to keep them. “well congressman, I’m afraid for the lives of them and their children”…..I’ll be the judge of that, I will check with our lawyers but if I have to we will supoena them. “But Mr Congressman, even today there is an ACORN bus tour of half of my employees neighborhoods, so rioters can threaten them with pitchforks….” good, good, those people should feel our outrage!!! Honorable Mr Congressman Barney Frank (D) MA
Just for fun….
http://themunz.blogspot.com/2009/03/youtube-barney-frank-gentleman-will.html
If you want to compare two different short videos.
The first Barney Franks from above and this one, which I think is pretty close, no?
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-&p=roland%20freisler&type=