It's safe to take you hand off your wallet, congress is out of session

From The Washington Post:

The first Democratic-led Congress in a dozen years limped out of Washington last night with a lengthy list of accomplishments, from the first increase in fuel-efficiency standards in a generation to the first minimum-wage hike in a decade.

But Democrats' failure to address the central issues that swept them to power left even the most partisan of them dissatisfied and Congress mired at a historic low in public esteem.

Handed control of Congress last year after making promises to end the war in Iraq, restore fiscal discipline in Washington and check President Bush's powers, Democrats instead closed the first session of the 110th Congress yesterday with House votes that sent Bush $70 billion in war funding, with no strings attached, and a $50 billion alternative-minimum-tax measure that shattered their pledge not to add to the federal budget deficit.

The public gave Democrats control of congress because they were disgusted with the fact that Republicans were spending taxpayers money like Ted Kennedy in a liquor store. Because the Republican leadership seemed to have turned a blind eye to some scandals involving Republicans until they blew up in the press and because the war in Iraq seemed to be bogged down.

Any person stupid enough to think that a political party which holds Bill and Hillary Clinton in high esteem would be able to clean up political corruption had that illusion shattered by William Jefferson's freezer full o'cash, Harry Reid's corrupt land deals and Diane Feinstein's abuse of her chairmanship of a powerful Senate committee to funnel money to her husband's company.

Any person stupid enough to think that the party whose only path to power consists of taking money from those who earn it and giving to those who do not could control spending had that illusion shattered by attempts to change the rules to allow earmarks to be parachuted in to bills after they had already been voted on.

And as for the war the people wanted VICTORY not defeat. The president acting in spite of the Democrats got a new commanding officer on the ground and a new strategy and is well on the way to giving people that victory. Again, in spite of the Democrats.

This is why Mr. Bush's approval rating is 10 points higher than congress's and most people now believe it was a mistake to give Democrats control of the legislature.

If the Democrats are not careful they are going to see not only the loss of the presidential race next year but historic losses in congress as well.