It will be interesting to see how Democrats in Congress handle their return to majority status, whether only in the House or in the Senate as well. Will they rise to the challenge and act reasonably at least some of the time, or will they sink under the weight of their party's overheated rhetoric and unrealistic demands of the last few years?
Democrats could get away with having no unified policy on Iraq (other than disapproval of everything the White House has ever done) when they were in the minority. Now, however, the rubber meets the road. The House will either continue funding the war in Iraq -- or it won't. Ditto for the war on terror and broader homeland security measures. If Jane Harman (D-Cal.) thinks the ports need better security measures, then by golly she and Nancy Pelosi had better get together with a couple hundred of their closest Democratic friends in the House and make it so.
It's one thing to lob spitballs from the sidelines. It's another to roll up your sleeves and produce something worthwhile. Now let's watch how Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats in Congress actually govern.
Some Democrats will reflexively seek to continue the game of burning George W. Bush in effigy. They'll launch hearings; bet your life on it. They'll drag Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, and everyone else they can think of in front of Congress to vent their spleens. But that game will be over soon. It will dawn on the Democratic base and the rest of the nation very soon that George W. Bush is entering his last two years in office. Democrats can beat the president like a pinata and it won't make one whit of difference in terms of national policy. Meanwhile, there are real enemies looking over their shoulders, and I don't mean Karl Rove or Dick Cheney.
I'd much prefer to see Democrats rise to the challenge of governing, even if it means that they'll hang onto power much longer as a result. We are in the midst of a war on America and the West, a war launched by Islamic terrorists. We have very little "slack" at this point. We may think we have all the time in the world, but that is an illusion that can be shattered in one awful instant.
So go ahead, Democrats. You've got your victory. Run with it. Try to run in a helpful direction.
Comments