Paladin
12-12-2006, 04:11 PM
I posted the immediate below over at www.gunscal.com about a month ago. Then I saw yesterday's SFChron article (further below) and added that to the post. I thought I'd post them both here too since many here have wondered what to expect from the new Congress w/the Dems in control (esp w/the hard-core anti Dems having seniority).
Our best hope is for the anti Dem leadership to show their true colors and true agenda lest they retain control of both chambers of Congress and win the White House in 2008. Then there will be no stopping the antis -- there will be nothing to restrain them and then they impose their anti-gun ideology on the entire nation. They'll also pack the fed cts and the Sup Ct w/antis who will strip us of our 2nd A rts for at least another 50 yrs.
However, if pro-gun people win control of the two Chambers (since antis have seniority in the Dem party, this requires the Repubs whose senior members are generally pro-2nd A to regain control) and the White House (a pro-gun Dem or Repub or 3rd P), then we might get more good justices like Scalia, Roberts and Alito who might extend the doctrine of incorporation to include the 2nd A, and then we in the PRK will not have to mess w/ideas like a RKBA state con amendment.
*****
Just like Hillary has been reinventing herself as a moderate since her time in the Senate, Pelosi also started reinventing herself during this election cycle. They'll dog the Repubs w/investigations and push to get "moderates" on the fed cts. They'll want to make an atmosphere of clean ethics and bipartisianship for the next two years in order to get Hillary (or other) into the White House and to increase their gains in Congress by showing how much better things work w/Dems in control. Expect the MSM to fully support them as their unpaid PR agencies. Barring another Columbine, I expect very few, if any, gun control laws until after the 2008 elections.
If they're in control of the House, Senate and White House in 2009, expect them offer more and more "reasonable" gun control laws while they wait for the inevitable nutcase (or jihadist) to kill a bunch of people. Then, w/non-stop MSM coverage and support, they'll ram through what they've been waiting to get. These pro-2nd A freshmen senators elected in 2006 will be pressured by party loyalty and "party discipline" (i.e., their political futures) to not make a big stink. Expect them to also offer up real liberal "legislators" (i.e., judges) for the Sup Ct after 2008.
They've learned their lessons well.
*****
Read yesterday's SF Chron article below and then re-read what I posted a month ago above.
What can I say? No, I don't have a mole in Pelosi's office.
I bolded the key sentences.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...type=printable
Pelosi Hews to Middle Ground: With Eye on 2008, New Speaker Works to Keep Democrats United
(12-11) 04:00 PST Washington -- With President Bush spurning the call for a dramatic change of course in Iraq, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi was asked last week whether the legislative branch might force Bush's hand by withholding the Pentagon's war funds.
"Absolutely not,'' Pelosi responded without hesitation. "As long as our troops are in harm's way, we will be there to support them."
The response provides a glimpse of the pragmatism that Democrats believe is necessary to keep the party unified and in the majority beyond 2008, and an insight into how Pelosi will lead when she becomes speaker in little more than three weeks.
Those who focus on Pelosi's nearly flawless liberal voting record during her 19 years in Congress may overlook the San Francisco Democrat's similarly consistent efforts to unify the party since she became a part of the House leadership five years ago.
Pelosi may be among Congress' most vocal war critics, yet many Democrats worry that starving the Pentagon is a crude and ineffective way to end the war, with potentially disastrous political consequences. Pelosi has no interest in beginning her speakership with a divisive fight.
Similarly, while Pelosi voted against a GOP measure last week to permit oil drilling off the Gulf Coast, and another requiring that women seeking abortions be told that their fetuses feel pain, she chose not to use her leadership position to defeat the bills, which enjoyed a certain amount of Democratic support (the drilling measure passed; the abortion measure failed).
As the Republicans' 12-year-control of Capitol Hill came to a close, the Pelosi-led Democrats are steadfastly avoiding issues upon which they disagree and presenting a united front on matters from Iraq to congressional ethics.
Pelosi remains focused on a series of bread-and-butter items with broad support among Democrats that she will push when the party takes control of the House on Jan. 4.
"Ms. Pelosi has said many times that she will govern from the middle -- and that's what she is doing,'' said her spokesman, Brendan Daly.
Pelosi's agenda for the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress includes House ethics, the minimum wage, college tuition costs, stem cell research, subsidies to oil companies and the security recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission. She has pledged to take up each of the issues before Bush delivers his State of the Union address in late January.
Absent from that list are matters that divide the party, including abortion rights, trade and gun control.
"There will be a real effort when we get back here to keep our eye on the ball ... and stay focused on the things we all think are important. Those are the signals that Speaker Pelosi is sending,'' said Simon Rosenberg, president of the Washington-based New Democratic Network.
"She is going to be tested often. The priorities that Speaker Pelosi is showing are shared by most of the Democrats, most of the time,'' Rosenberg said.
Pelosi's early choices have raised a few eyebrows, but hardly a single vocal complaint from the interest groups that are lobbying for her attention.
"I don't question her commitment or her dedication to protect the right of women to choose,'' said Kate Michelman, the past president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Michelman praised Pelosi for wisely avoiding taking the GOP's bait to enter a symbolic debate last week over what she regards as a "terribly damaging'' proposal to require doctors to tell women their fetuses feel pain and offer anesthesia for the fetus prior to an abortion.
"As speaker, she will have to be careful about what bills she will take up. Leadership has to pick its battles,'' Michelman said.
Some environmentalists said they would have welcomed Pelosi's assistance in defeating the oil drilling bill, but none was willing to publicly condemn a lawmaker with a strong environmental record and whose allegiance they are counting on in the future.
"You have two simultaneous feelings going on,'' said Bob Borosage, director of the Campaign for America's Future, a liberal advocacy group.
"There's a general sense of appreciation and respect for the leadership that (Pelosi) has shown,'' Borosage said. "At the same time, there is a massive, decadelong pent-up agenda of things that groups want to get done that this next Congress won't be able to meet. Some groups are gearing up for big campaigns that will be bruising."
Added Michelman: "I expect that advocates are going to want the leadership to take strong stands. And some will be upset when it doesn't happen to the degree to which they believe it should. I also expect that a lot of these groups will understand that the leadership has to pick their issues.''
Pelosi's commitment to pragmatism over ideology also was exhibited on several moves far below the radar screen.
She named 19 members to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, responsible for developing policy and doling out committee assignments, from across the ideological spectrum, from liberals such as Rep. George Miller of Martinez to far more conservative Democrats like Reps. Marion Berry of Arkansas, Gene Taylor of Mississippi and Charlie Melancon of Louisiana.
She retained the services of House Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood and several other house officers -- appointed by Republicans -- to smooth the operation of the House when Democrats take control.
"She is working night and day to be ready to go to work on Jan. 4,'' said Rep. Ellen Tauscher of Walnut Creek, who is the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of more than 60 centrist House Democrats who last week held a closed-door meeting to discuss legislative priorities with Pelosi.
"The best opportunity for the Democratic Party is to have Nancy Pelosi be the most successful speaker we've had in modern history. And we're committed to that,'' Tauscher said.
Our best hope is for the anti Dem leadership to show their true colors and true agenda lest they retain control of both chambers of Congress and win the White House in 2008. Then there will be no stopping the antis -- there will be nothing to restrain them and then they impose their anti-gun ideology on the entire nation. They'll also pack the fed cts and the Sup Ct w/antis who will strip us of our 2nd A rts for at least another 50 yrs.
However, if pro-gun people win control of the two Chambers (since antis have seniority in the Dem party, this requires the Repubs whose senior members are generally pro-2nd A to regain control) and the White House (a pro-gun Dem or Repub or 3rd P), then we might get more good justices like Scalia, Roberts and Alito who might extend the doctrine of incorporation to include the 2nd A, and then we in the PRK will not have to mess w/ideas like a RKBA state con amendment.
*****
Just like Hillary has been reinventing herself as a moderate since her time in the Senate, Pelosi also started reinventing herself during this election cycle. They'll dog the Repubs w/investigations and push to get "moderates" on the fed cts. They'll want to make an atmosphere of clean ethics and bipartisianship for the next two years in order to get Hillary (or other) into the White House and to increase their gains in Congress by showing how much better things work w/Dems in control. Expect the MSM to fully support them as their unpaid PR agencies. Barring another Columbine, I expect very few, if any, gun control laws until after the 2008 elections.
If they're in control of the House, Senate and White House in 2009, expect them offer more and more "reasonable" gun control laws while they wait for the inevitable nutcase (or jihadist) to kill a bunch of people. Then, w/non-stop MSM coverage and support, they'll ram through what they've been waiting to get. These pro-2nd A freshmen senators elected in 2006 will be pressured by party loyalty and "party discipline" (i.e., their political futures) to not make a big stink. Expect them to also offer up real liberal "legislators" (i.e., judges) for the Sup Ct after 2008.
They've learned their lessons well.
*****
Read yesterday's SF Chron article below and then re-read what I posted a month ago above.
What can I say? No, I don't have a mole in Pelosi's office.
I bolded the key sentences.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...type=printable
Pelosi Hews to Middle Ground: With Eye on 2008, New Speaker Works to Keep Democrats United
(12-11) 04:00 PST Washington -- With President Bush spurning the call for a dramatic change of course in Iraq, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi was asked last week whether the legislative branch might force Bush's hand by withholding the Pentagon's war funds.
"Absolutely not,'' Pelosi responded without hesitation. "As long as our troops are in harm's way, we will be there to support them."
The response provides a glimpse of the pragmatism that Democrats believe is necessary to keep the party unified and in the majority beyond 2008, and an insight into how Pelosi will lead when she becomes speaker in little more than three weeks.
Those who focus on Pelosi's nearly flawless liberal voting record during her 19 years in Congress may overlook the San Francisco Democrat's similarly consistent efforts to unify the party since she became a part of the House leadership five years ago.
Pelosi may be among Congress' most vocal war critics, yet many Democrats worry that starving the Pentagon is a crude and ineffective way to end the war, with potentially disastrous political consequences. Pelosi has no interest in beginning her speakership with a divisive fight.
Similarly, while Pelosi voted against a GOP measure last week to permit oil drilling off the Gulf Coast, and another requiring that women seeking abortions be told that their fetuses feel pain, she chose not to use her leadership position to defeat the bills, which enjoyed a certain amount of Democratic support (the drilling measure passed; the abortion measure failed).
As the Republicans' 12-year-control of Capitol Hill came to a close, the Pelosi-led Democrats are steadfastly avoiding issues upon which they disagree and presenting a united front on matters from Iraq to congressional ethics.
Pelosi remains focused on a series of bread-and-butter items with broad support among Democrats that she will push when the party takes control of the House on Jan. 4.
"Ms. Pelosi has said many times that she will govern from the middle -- and that's what she is doing,'' said her spokesman, Brendan Daly.
Pelosi's agenda for the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress includes House ethics, the minimum wage, college tuition costs, stem cell research, subsidies to oil companies and the security recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission. She has pledged to take up each of the issues before Bush delivers his State of the Union address in late January.
Absent from that list are matters that divide the party, including abortion rights, trade and gun control.
"There will be a real effort when we get back here to keep our eye on the ball ... and stay focused on the things we all think are important. Those are the signals that Speaker Pelosi is sending,'' said Simon Rosenberg, president of the Washington-based New Democratic Network.
"She is going to be tested often. The priorities that Speaker Pelosi is showing are shared by most of the Democrats, most of the time,'' Rosenberg said.
Pelosi's early choices have raised a few eyebrows, but hardly a single vocal complaint from the interest groups that are lobbying for her attention.
"I don't question her commitment or her dedication to protect the right of women to choose,'' said Kate Michelman, the past president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Michelman praised Pelosi for wisely avoiding taking the GOP's bait to enter a symbolic debate last week over what she regards as a "terribly damaging'' proposal to require doctors to tell women their fetuses feel pain and offer anesthesia for the fetus prior to an abortion.
"As speaker, she will have to be careful about what bills she will take up. Leadership has to pick its battles,'' Michelman said.
Some environmentalists said they would have welcomed Pelosi's assistance in defeating the oil drilling bill, but none was willing to publicly condemn a lawmaker with a strong environmental record and whose allegiance they are counting on in the future.
"You have two simultaneous feelings going on,'' said Bob Borosage, director of the Campaign for America's Future, a liberal advocacy group.
"There's a general sense of appreciation and respect for the leadership that (Pelosi) has shown,'' Borosage said. "At the same time, there is a massive, decadelong pent-up agenda of things that groups want to get done that this next Congress won't be able to meet. Some groups are gearing up for big campaigns that will be bruising."
Added Michelman: "I expect that advocates are going to want the leadership to take strong stands. And some will be upset when it doesn't happen to the degree to which they believe it should. I also expect that a lot of these groups will understand that the leadership has to pick their issues.''
Pelosi's commitment to pragmatism over ideology also was exhibited on several moves far below the radar screen.
She named 19 members to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, responsible for developing policy and doling out committee assignments, from across the ideological spectrum, from liberals such as Rep. George Miller of Martinez to far more conservative Democrats like Reps. Marion Berry of Arkansas, Gene Taylor of Mississippi and Charlie Melancon of Louisiana.
She retained the services of House Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood and several other house officers -- appointed by Republicans -- to smooth the operation of the House when Democrats take control.
"She is working night and day to be ready to go to work on Jan. 4,'' said Rep. Ellen Tauscher of Walnut Creek, who is the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of more than 60 centrist House Democrats who last week held a closed-door meeting to discuss legislative priorities with Pelosi.
"The best opportunity for the Democratic Party is to have Nancy Pelosi be the most successful speaker we've had in modern history. And we're committed to that,'' Tauscher said.