Caught

Rahm Emanuel gets stuck on Bill Maher. If you want to know why Democrats can't stand this Democratic Congress, watch this 10-minute object lesson.



Here we have a senior member of the Democratic leadership claiming that we can't cut off funding for the war because Bush will leave troops naked and unarmed in Iraq anyway. And being OKAY with that, accepting that as some kind of reality instead of a gross violation of the Constitution and the stuff coups are made of.

Emanuel has to twist himself into these rhetorical kots because he thinks the war is a far better issue for Democrats in 2008 than something they should stop in 2007. It's the classic sports strategy of copying success: saying we'll end the war worked in 2006, why not use it again? The answer, of course, is nobody will believe you the second time. Emanuel got all indignant when he was challenged on this point.

MAHER: [overlapping] As long as the war goes on, I think the Democrats say to themselves, "We win votes every day, because it's an unpopular war." Which is sort of almost more cynical than they're probably-

EMANUEL: [overlapping] No, that is not - that is not - absolutely not, Bill. That's wrong.

DYSON: [overlapping] Well, whether they intend - well, here is the point - whether they - whether they intend to or not, the reality is the consequence is as - right?

EMANUEL: [overlapping] You don't think - you don't think - wait a second. You don't think Jack Murtha, when he came out his position about redeploying was - knew that - he was just doing it, letting this war go on, and everything like that. People aren't doing that for that reason. People ran - the people we got - some of the Iraqi war vets that ran - and then decided to go - and there were Democrats, some of them weren't by party, before that, we Democrats - they ran because they knew this party that wanted to end this war and bring these kids home. And that is exactly what we have to do.

But I don't see how you can argue anything else, given the facts.

Saying that we sent one bill with a timeline to the President in May, and because of one veto that's pretty much that, is beyond irresponsible. And it speaks to this opportunistic, yet status-quo-maintaining, mindset epitomized by Emanuel. I am not as down on the Democratic Congress as others, and I will defend them against claims that they didn't implement their agenda (4 of the "6 for '06" agenda items have passed, stem cell research was passed and vetoed) and that they have faltered on the budget, which is clearly a matter of Bush's total hypocrisy and intransigence. The Democrats have a right-wing noise machine, a President and practically the whole establishment against them. But on the war, they are simply being craven. And don't get me started about Iran.