I'm Just Sayin'

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), in order to keep President Bush from making any recess appointments, while Congress is not in session... away for the Thanksgiving holidays, held a "pro forma" session of Congress. This 22 second session is the first of this type and will be held through out the holidays in order to keep Bush from making any Presidential appointments while Congress is not present (to block the appointments). When the Congress  is off, as it is now for this seasons holidays, the president can make recess appointments that are not subject to confirmation hearings. All presidents have done this. Reagan made 243 for example and Clinton made 140...Bush is at 165 so far. These appointees can serve until the end of the congressional session, which at this point would be until Bush leaves office. The Democrats are employing a tactic which has, apparently, never been used.

Never been used?  Wow! This is kind of exciting. I mean more congressional quagmire. A new batch of thick, gooey slow motion lotion. On one hand, I applaud those ole Democrats for actually doing something. I'm not sure how Sen. Webb was chosen to hold the first of these pro forma sessions, but I wonder if convenience  was a factor. He lives just a few miles from Washington. Other Senators who live in the area will take turns running the Senate for a few seconds per session until the holidays are over. I hope this doesn't put these guys out too much. The White House charges that this new tactic would not have been necessary if the Democrats in Congress had not failed to act on 190 pending nominations already before Congress.

The effect of this new strategy will accomplish two things...set a precident for more use of this strategy and block the appointment of Dr James Holsinger to the post of Surgeon General.  So we have an event of  historical significance and we block a flaming  homophobic, deranged Christian moralist from becoming our Surgeon General. I submit that of the two accomplishments, the latter is more important at this point in history. Way more important. Dr Holsinger stepped down from the board of trustees of Asbury Theological Seminary in order to accept this appointment which he believed to be eminent. Ooops. Underestimated those crafty ass  Democrats.  (How...why  did it take well over 200 years to conceive this game plan...just wonderin') Back to Holsinger...Holsinger founded a church that ministers to homosexuals who want to go straight and has a long history of prejudice toward gays and lesbians and he opposed a decision to allow a practicing lesbian to be an associate pastor  in the United Methodist Church. Why George, George, George...you sneaky, beady eyed, Christian zealot weasel you. Where in the world do you find these guys? Why do you think that we, this country, would be well served to have this bigot acting as our Surgeon General? 

As I sit here on Thanksgiving Day, 2007, and as I consider all the things I have to be thankful for, I just can't help but be overcome with a feeling of foreboding...it's those dark clouds hanging over Washington. I'm hoping things get better. Change provides us a shot at improvement and a change will come. Bush will be gone next election and while I think it will be impossible to end up with a replacement, Democrat or Republican who will do a worse job than Bush...our screwed up Congress will remain screwed up. The damage for which the Bush administration is responsible will take years to overcome. Special interest groups will all try to have it their way. We'll keep making alot of the same mistakes we've been making or we will make new mistakes which will make our previous mistakes look trivial and insignificant by comparison.

I hope I am wrong.  Happy Thanksgiving.