BCT Editorial – 2/20/06

This page was last updated on February 25, 2006.

Watch dogs, not lap dogs; Editorial; Beaver County Times; February 20, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Are congressional Republicans waking up to their responsibilities?

“Some congressional Republicans are beginning to realize that Congress is the watch dog over the executive branch, not its lap dog.”

[RWC] My copy of the U.S. Constitution indicates the three branches of government are co-equals.

“Of course, it took total disasters, one foreign and one domestic, to wake up the sleeping dogs.

“When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., let her know in no uncertain terms that they were unhappy with the Bush administration on several fronts.”

[RWC] Here’s what the editorial doesn’t tell us. Mr. Hagel has held his opinion for at least a couple of years, and Mr. Chafee is really a Democrat with an “R” after his name. Mr. Chafee has never been friendly to the Bush administration. That’s true for many (most?) elected Republicans in the Northeast. Lest we forget, Mr. Chafee was the only “Republican” who voted against confirming Sam Alito for the U.S. Supreme Court.

“‘I don’t see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they’re getting worse in Iraq. I think they’re getting worse in Iran,’ Hagel told Rice. He said he was also pessimistic about the implications of the militant group Hamas’ victory in Palestinian elections last month.”

[RWC] I get a kick out of a lot of people who criticize U.S. actions regarding Iran. We’re doing exactly what these clowns said we should do regarding Iraq – let the UN and France, Germany, and Russia negotiate – and they are upset at the lack of a satisfactory result.

“On the domestic front, the House of Representatives Wednesday released ‘A Failure of Initiative,’ which was highly critical of the way in which federal, state and local governments, as well as charitable organizations, responded to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. What makes the House report especially compelling is that House Democrats, fearing a Republican whitewash, chose not to participate in the investigation. (Two did informally, however.)

“On the same day the House report was released, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he heard chairwoman Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, call his department’s response ‘late, uncertain and ineffective’ and that it must ‘be judged a failure.’”

[RWC] As Mr. Chafee, Ms. Collins is a Democrat with an “R” after her name. That said, there’s no question the overall Katrina efforts of all government levels were less than successful, except for the military. The Times, however, ignores the fact that local and state governments are primarily responsible for disaster operations. This is because Democrats have controlled Louisiana and New Orleans since forever and the Times feels the need to dump the full blame on the feds. If the president were a Democrat, I suspect the Times would be blaming the locals.

“In addition to this, some Republicans are starting to express concerns about the NSA’s domestic surveillance operations, with the most significant questioner being U.S. Rep. Heather A. Wilson, R-N.M., who sits on the House Intelligence Committee.”

[RWC] What NSA “domestic surveillance operations?” Does the author mean the program intercepting international communications of suspect terrorists?

The author failed to note the ranking Democrat (Jane Harman, D-CA) on the committee believes the program is valuable.

“Of course, these could just be election-year tactics. Let’s hope that is not the case. Since 2001, Congress has grossly neglected its oversight duties. It must become more vigilant.”

[RWC] Here’s a corrected version of the penultimate sentence to say what the author really meant. “Since 2001, Congress has grossly neglected its Bush-bashing duties.”

Here’s another point missed by the editorial. Regardless of party affiliation, most members of Congress want to expand their power relative to the other government branches.