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Monday, October 22, 2007
Michael Barone :: Townhall.com Columnist
We're Not in 2006 Anymore
by Michael Barone
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Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


The Democrats have found themselves on the defensive on other issues, as well. Last week, the House Democrats were forced to delay a vote on their version of the revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which among other things would have prohibited surveillance of communications between suspected terrorists abroad and persons in the United States without a court warrant.

The House Democrats were responsive to left-wingers' theoretical concerns about abusive surveillance and unconcerned that most voters don't want the National Security Agency to hang up when Osama bin Laden calls the United States. In any case, they were undercut when Senate Democrats agreed to a revision that did not contain that provision and others unacceptable to the Bush administration.

The House Democratic leadership also backed down last week from its determination to bring a resolution condemning the Turkish government's massacre of Armenians in 1915-16. The Turkish government took umbrage at this, and its parliament voted to authorize military action in Iraq's Kurdish provinces against anti-Turkish Kurdish guerrillas -- a nightmare scenario in the one part of Iraq that has been consistently peaceful and pro-American since 2003.

Senior House Democrats like John Murtha and Ike Skelton said the resolution was a bad idea, and Nancy Pelosi reversed herself (as Speaker Dennis Hastert did on the same issue in 2000, at the request of Bill Clinton).

Democrats are coming face to face with the fact that there's a war on -- and that Americans prefer success to failure. If the choice is between stalemate and withdrawal, as it seemed to be in November 2006, they may favor withdrawal; but if the choice is between victory and withdrawal, they don't want to quit -- or to undermine the effort.

Last week, Democrat Niki Tsongas won a special election with only 51 percent of the vote, in a Massachusetts district where John Kerry won 57 percent in 2004 and would have run much better in 2006. History doesn't stand still -- we're not in 2006 anymore.

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About The Author
Michael Barone is a Fox News Channel contributor and co-author of The Almanac of American Politics. He is Senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner and a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News Channel contributor and co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.
 
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(71 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Oct 26, 2007 - 3:46 AM EST
A Better Foreign Policy
It's a good idea to point out Democrat failures with regard to to the war and failure to support, understand or influence our foreign policy. But this administration has failed in many respects as well - The surge is helping for sure but without a consistent overall strategy at work we're taking a step back for every two steps forward.

Please consider reviewing and sharing the following foreign policy statement by presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View &Blog_id=507

Mike has been surging in grassroots support lately, but it seems like not too many people realize he has a strong grasp of the whole war on terror. From Afghanistan, to Iraq and Iran he understands the nature of the threats we face, both the challenges and the opportunities. And he has some very good ideas about how he as president would go about meeting them.
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Reply # 2
Date: Oct 24, 2007 - 1:19 AM EST
High Casualties in Iraq
In the scheme of things, is 3800+ casualties and, of course, a large number of wounded really out of line, or unexpected, in a conflict of this type and magnitude? We suffer perhaps 10 times this number of deaths every year on our highways. The Democrats routinely trumpet this as THE reason to get out of Iraq. Surely, there are ways to neutralize this contention without sounding heartless. It simply takes some time to formulate.
My limited experience with grievously injured military personnel, primarily amputees, persuades me that they believed in their cause and accept the sacrifices they made because it was for God and Country. It was their duty. Of course, there is a minority who lament their injuries and this is understandable. I am not criticizing them. I merely note they are in a very small minority. None of the pundits ever celebrates this selflessness. This does a grave disservice to our noble warriors.
If the current Republican strategists and speech writers can't develop a strategy, they should be replaced by those who can. In the meantime, good writers like you must take up the cudgel.
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