Redstate

By Mark Kilmer Posted in Special Features — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sunday, June 24, 2007

This morning on FOX News Sunday, Trent Lott explained that talk radio hosts and their listeners did not know what is in the immigration bill and were reacting from ignorance. Diane Feinstein agreed and said that she is thinking about restoring the Fairness Doctrine. She said that Democrats were angry with Congress because they are too stupid to understand how our system of government works, that they cannot simply pull our troops from Iraq of a sudden by themselves.

On NBC's Meet the Press, Pat Buchanan said that the illegal immigrants can be removed from the country by attrition by deporting the rapists and murderers. Representative Luis Gutierrez said that they should all receive their documents.

On ABC's This week, Teddy Kennedy said that people would die in the desert if he didn't get his way. He averred that his vote against the Iraq war was the greatest vote he'd ever cast in the Senate, even more so than his civil rights votes and his vote against the "Contra war." Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions was up next, saying that they should scrap this immigration bill and start over. He wants to reduce our presence in Iraq but he opposes "politically determined timetables."

On CBS' Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer held a bizarre roundtable about third party candidates and Mike Bloomberg. Ed Koch said that the Republicans were dead. Ed Rollins said that he was a still a Republican. Jon Harris of politico.com admitted that the Bloomberg story was simply a matter of the political press engaging in the infotainment they so love, reporting their imaginations not the news.

On LE, Senator Ron Wyden, formerly a typical myopic putz, showed that he has been emboldened into cocksureness by his opposition to the Iraq war. He spouted vacuity after vacuity with the certainty of an oversized lummox. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is suffering from investigations fatigue, as every day, the Dems have a new one.

Next on LE, General Ray Odierno reiterated that if the Iraqis continue to improve as they are, we may be able to redeploy by Spring, but a lot would have to happen between now and the time to make such a decision. He sees the Iraqi army "improving every day."

The show-by-show synopses are below the fold.

LOTT AND FEINSTEIN ON MTP. Senators Trent Lott and Diane Feinstein were host Chris Wallace's guests this morning on FOX News Sunday, and there was plenty of pleasant comity in these tense political times, etc.

Wallace repeated Lott's claim that talk radio was running America, and he played quotes from Rush Limbaugh and Mikey Savage. Lott backed away from his statement and shifted the blame from the radio hosts to the lawmakers, asserting that the talk radio hosts don't know what is in the immigration bill because the lawmakers did not explain what they were trying to do. If the illiterate citizenry only knew of the higher purpose of the U.S. Senate, if it had been explained in Dick & Jane & Three Little Pigs terms, radio talkers and the ignorant masses would be better able to comment.

They don't know what's in the bill, Lott asserted, adding that he is not committed to the final bill. He'll have to see what's in it. SO, it sounds to me like the Senator is projecting. He doesn't know what will be in the bill or whether he will support it, but he's attacking others for pointing out what they do not like about it.

Diane Feinstein wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, as she finds talk radio to be "one-sided… pushing people to extreme positions without information." Wallace asked if she'd try to revive the fairness doctrine, and she replied: "I'm looking at it." But the market hasn't borne lefty talk, DiFi? She replied: "I believe in fairness."

Why is Congress so unpopular? DiFi says it is because Democratic voters are too stupid to understand how our system of government works. The people elected the Democrats to get us out of Iraq, she averred, and they do not understand that the Senate cannot simply get us out of Iraq on their own of a sudden. Lott countered that the people are upset with Congress because they haven't been able to get results for the past three years.

DiFi railed on the President's Signing Statements, where he signs a bill and explains which provisions he will enforce. (According to her.) She said that the Veep arguing that he is not a part of the Executive Branch because his only Constitutional duty is to preside over the Senate is "the height of arrogance." Lott suggested that we let the courts decided, as they always have. He personally thinks the veep is part of the Executive Branch. She said that the role of President of the Senate was Constitutionally superfluous, meaningless. (She used the term supernumerary.)

Wallace asked Feinstein if she were prepared to ignore General Petraeus if he reported in December that the surge will need more time. She said that the troops will have to be out of Iraq by the end of April regardless of what General Petraeus says. She said that besides the general's report in December, there will be four other reports which will be taken into account. She asked how long Americans have to be in a civil war. Lott said he will give the surge a chance and he won't make any declarations and decisions until September.

Feinstein called the situation at the Justice Department, "A Deteriorating Situations." She promised that subpoenas will be issued. Lott said that the Justice Department has had low credibility with him for the last thirty-five years, but of course it's all politics.

TEDDY KENNEDY ON TW. Oh, the "Liberal Lion." On ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos talked to Teddy Kennedy. Steph brought up that Mitch McConnell has said that he doesn't know if the immigration bill will pass or if he will support it. Teddy said that it will pass and it will have "good support among the Republican Party." It will pass, he said, "because it's tough, fair, and practical." It's tough on the border, he said, throwing money at the problem. It is tough on workplace enforcement, he said, and a "tamper proof card" to make sure we have an "effective immigration policy." It's fair because it sends the "undocumented" to the back of the line and makes them pay lots of fines. It's practical, he says, 'cos it will work. Polls, he says, say so.

Steph told Teddy that bill was becoming less popular over the past several weeks, and now the Hispanic groups were starting to rebel by writing letters to Harry Reid. Teddy replied that the 12-and-a-half-million who "live in fear of being deported" will feel safe.

He said that the illegal young people who were forcibly brought here without their knowledge, and who have lived here for three years and graduated high school, will be eligible to serve in the military.

"Doing nothing is not an alternative. What is their alternative?"

Starting over.

Well, Teddy said, they've debated this since 9-11 and they have no alternatives.

Steph spoke of Senator Hutchinson's "Killer Amendment" which would require illegals to go home before they could apply for citizenship. Teddy doesn't support this, but he spoke of the days of your when he battled and battled for civil rights legislation.

"This is a battle which is worth making."

He talked about all the people who would "die out there in the desert" if his bill does not pass.

Teddy said that he would work with the President when he's right. (He will cross the bridge with the President when the President is willing, but the President will have to do the diving.) He lamented that he was not able to work with the President on Iraq policy, as then we would not have gone to war.

Steph changed the subject to Iraq. Steph asked him if it would be right of the voters to consider this Congress a failure if there are 100,000 troops in Iraq on Election Day 2008. Ted reiterated that his vote against the war was the best vote he's every cast in his entire Senate career. (What about his civil rights legislation? He's demeaning those votes.) He said that the surge has not worked. He said that the Dems will keep sending the President timetables. He thinks Republicans will defect until the Dems have a majority in support of a timetable. It happened with Vietnam, though too late, he said. It happened in the "Contra war," he said, though too late. (He's right about the Contra war. Congress was able to defund it too late to stop the fall of communism in Central America. So. There.)

Ted doesn't know whom he will support in the Presidential race. He wants a "leader who's going to inspire."

JEFF SESSIONS ON TW. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama was next for host Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week. He and the President "have a disagreement" on the immigration bill. Sessions thinks it "will not work." He thinks Teddy's support "continues to erode." He said that they have to go back, reevaluate it, and create "something we can be proud of," not a replication of the 1986 bill.

Sessions pointed out that under the bill now, the illegals would not have to return home before they apply for citizenship. (Senator Hutchinson has an amendment with that requirement.)

Steph played a clip of Lindsey Graham talking about xenophobic nativists. Sessions argued that they were talking about moving toward an amnesty, not reducing the flow of illegals. He supports a lawful guest workers program. He fears "Lindsey got carried away."

Sessions said that they had to "read the legislation to the American people" to show them that even if they agree with the ideals the legislation purports to support, it "won't get us there." He seeks a "mind set change" to accept that "hey can make the system lawful."

On Iraq, Session said that he will listen "with great interest" in what General Petraeus says in September. He thinks the surge is taking casualties but making progress. He's concerned with "reducing our presence in Iraq," but he opposes a "politically-determined timetable."

Come September, Senator Sessions said, General Petraeus "would have to justify" maintaining troop levels where they are, as "most people expect they're going to come down."

GUTIERREZ AND BUCHANAN ON MTP. Over on NBC, Meet the Press host Tim Russert had Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) and Pat Buchanan to argue immigration from the extremes. Buchanan argued that the 12-million immigrants illegally inside America today is greater than the total number of immigrants to enter the United States to this point. He proposed that we secure the border, deport the rapists and murderers, and get rid of "corporate magnets" and government benefits for illegals.

Gutierrez complained that the "tone and tenor of the debate here on Meet the Press is what is wrong." He accused Buchanan of generalizing and casting aspersions. He explained that we needed illegal immigrants to work in "inhuman conditions" where Americans won't work. Gutierrez explained that the American workforce was aging and that we needed the younger illegal immigrants to do the jobs that Americans will be too old to do. He said that Pat Buchanan was lying about illegals receiving welfare payments.

Pat Buchanan countered that the courts have held that the state was required to educate illegal immigrants. He added that 50% of African Americans and Hispanics do not graduate from high school. He said that when he was a kid, Americans mowed lawns and washed cars, so they will do it now.

Deporting all 12-million illegals is unfeasible, it seemed to be agreed. Pat Buchanan said that the illegal immigrants would go home "by attrition" if we enforce the laws against rape and murder. Gutierrez thinks that the illegal immigrants should be given documents.

FTN THIRD PARTY ROUNDTABLE. On CBS, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer spoke to Ed Koch, Sam Waterston, Ed Rollins, and John Harris.

Schieffer asked Waterston about Unity '08, some group that wants to have a third party candidate. He said that our two-party system is broken and that this is the first time in our 200 year history that the race is "open." Bloomberg is one of the names about whom his little group is talking, but he added that the people, in an "online convention," would decide who is the nominee. Schieffer asked Waterston if he can get his guy on the ballot in all 50 States. Waterston is working on it.

Schieffer talked to Ed Rollins, Reagan's '84 guy who went on to almost run Ross Perot's campaign in 2000. He explained that Ross Perot did not want to communicate effectively with voters. Rollins claimed that he was still a Republican, but he insisted that Bloomberg's candidacy would be good for America. He thinks getting on all 50 ballots is "doable" but not easy. With Bloomberg's resources, it can be done.

Schieffer called Ed Koch an "independent thinker" because he is a Democrat who was a Bushie in '04. Koch supports Hillary in the primaries this time. He's waiting for Bloomberg to discuss international affairs, and he said that he'll choose whoever will be best for the country. He added that "it won't be a Republican. They're dead." He thinks Hillary will be the next President of the United States, but he will listen to a third party candidate if that occurs.

Schieffer talked to John Harris of politico.com. Harris is the one who asked a juvenile and distinctly unclever question in the MSNBC GOP debate with Matthews and the sportscaster. ("What's with all this GOP corruption? Huh, maaan?") He declared that the country was not partisan. He said that voters are angry about the war, not the party process, so this isn't like when Perot ran in '92.

Rollins said that Hillary will win the Dem nomination, and he doesn't know who will be the Republican candidate. He said that the popularity of Republicans is plummeting, so a Bloomberg run would hurt the GOP more than the Dems.

Schieffer asked Koch if a Bloomberg run would hurt Hillary or Rudy. Koch thinks the Republicans are in "such disorder" that Bloomberg will hurt Rudy more. He said that Republicans do not like who is currently seeking the nomination, and if they don't get someone else, they will vote for Bloomberg.

Waterston lectured Harris that the issue of the Iraq war was influenced by process. Voters want a process which will be more centrist.

Harris said that the two-party balance favors the Democrats, so anything which upsets that balance would hurt the Democrats. Good thinking, John.

Harris acknowledged that the Bloomberg story was the creation of the political press, feeding the public that which interests the reporters rather than actual news.

And Schieffer never mentioned that Waterston's character on Law and Order will likely take the place of Fred Thompson's character next season.

It's all infotainment, folks.

RON WYDEN AND KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON ON LE On CNN's Late Edition, host Wolf Blitzer opened with a chat with Ron Wyden and Kay Bailey Hutchinson. He played a clip of General Peter Pace explaining that there was more fighting with this surge, thus more casualties. Wyden said that this was unacceptable. The surge was only a surge of rhetoric, the reports will prove that the surge is not working, and we should come home.

Wolf declared that Mitch McConnell was frustrated with the Iraqi government. Hutchinson agreed. She wants Iraq to follow the "Bosnian Model," with Iraq being partitioned into three autonomous zones (a la Gelb-Biden-Brownback). Wyden said that this sounds nice, but it is probably too "late in the game" to matter.

Wyden said that our policies in Iraq were creating more jihadists. He said we should beat al Qaeda where they are, Afghanistan. Hutchinson said that we can't just say it's broken and leave. She explained that the war was about stopping terrorism from spreading all over the world.

Wyden said that we were not going to do the heavy lifting but we would train Iraqis. And we would go after al Qaeda "in the Sunni areas of Afghanistan."

Hutchinson argued that we must not seem to be putting "our tail between our legs and running home." She said that we need more help from the region.

Blitzer played a clip of General Ray Odierno of talking of the Iraqis being ready to take on more responsibility by the Spring. Wyden said that the "generals in the Bush Administration" had been saying that for years.

After a commercial break, they discussed immigration. Senator Hutchinson called the bill, "amnesty." She thinks, though, that "we have to deal" with the 12-million who are here illegally. She wants to secure the borders and get a guest worker program. Ron Wyden said that the first vote will be Tuesday, and that most Americans were ignorant of what cloture means. He wants to fine those here illegally and make them get in the back of the line for citizenship.

Kay says she supports human embryonic stem cell experimentation because she wants to use the embryos which are going to be discarded and perform experiments on them. Wyden said that "Kay's analysis is spot on."

Blitzer brought up the Veep's claim that he was not a member of the executive branch and the clip of Feinstein's "height of arrogance" quip. Hutchinson thinks that there should be some balance, some allowance for Presidents and Veeps to have private meetings. Wyden said that they ought to comply with the law. Hutchinson said that the Veep isn't saying that he's above the law; rather, that it involves legal interpretations.

Senator Hutchinson has "Investigations" fatigue.

The most interesting thing to come out of this interview, I think, is how opposition to the Iraq war has taken a myopic putz like Wyden and transformed him into a cocksure and oversized lummox throwing pronouncements like candy to the kids at an Easter parade.

GENERAL ODIERNO ON LE. Blitzer's next guest on Late Edition was General Ray Odierno, commander of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq. Operation Phantom Thunder. Wolf allowed the general to clarify that U.S. forces might be able to begin withdrawing in Spring. The general said that he will begin to make recommendations in December, and if the Iraqis continue to improve, they could withdraw by Spring. He said that a lot had to happen first.

He sees the Iraqi army "improving every day." They are sticking with the fight and taking casualties, and they have a system to replace those casualties.

Blitzer called U.S. casualties "high." (By what standards?) He quoted ex-general McCaffrey as telling the WashPost that it was absurd to think a few more U.S. troops could win a civil war. Odierno said that it was not just the U.S. troops doing the fighting and it was not an "all-out civil war."

Blitzer asked why we were arming the Sunni militias in Al Anbar. Odierno said that they were not arming anyone; rather, they were letting the Sunnis join them to fight al Qaeda. They become a part of the Iraqi government forces joining U.S. soldiers on missions in Al Anbar. Blitzer quoted Maliki as saying that he did not like the U.S. government arming Sunnis because that creates more militias. Odierno said that Maliki is now comfortable with the idea that they are not arming these individuals; rather, they are becoming a part of the Iraqi security apparatus rejecting and fighting al Qaeda. (They sign documents renouncing violence against Iraqi and coalition forces to be accepted, and then they go through training.)

General Odierno said that they will have to determine if they are making enough progress to continue the current strategy. If not, they'll have to change it.
~~~~~

Strong ending.

Have at it!