Report Card
Kimberley Strassel issues a report card on the Democratic party's leadership in Congress in the past six months. It is not even remotely a pretty picture. Frankly, they haven't done much of anything.
Six months on, the country isn't much impressed. Congress's approval rating is drifting into the netherworld, having sunk to an average of 25%. One recent Gallup poll reported only 14% of Americans profess confidence in that institution, now run by Democrats. The numbers make even President Bush look good, an extraordinary achievement.
A half-year isn't usually a fair measure of a party's abilities, but then again, Dems have set themselves a high bar. Their goal, by the end of next year, is to have increased their majorities in both the House and Senate, as well as captured the White House. That's an uphill climb in any political climate, harder still given today's skeptical and unsettled electorate. Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid can't afford dawdling or division, not if they want to make a mark with voters.
Both leaders seemed to understand–at least in the beginning–that few things were more important than showing voters the party had a plan, and that it could get that plan passed. This philosophy was behind the "Six for '06," an agenda that was purposely small (minimum wage, college scholarships), so as to garner support from all party wings. Ms. Pelosi's first "100 hours" were then run with military precision, as she systematically passed items with unanimous support from her party, and Republican votes to boot. It was an impressive showing.
Then, with the first 100 hours done and gone, by mid-January the Democratic Party proceeded to fall apart. The crumbling has progressed along predictable lines.
For starters, the leaders have failed to keep the Bush-hating left under wraps. This crowd isn't nearly as interested in passing legislation as it is flooding the Beltway with subpoenas. By one count, the new Democratic Congress has held over 600 oversight hearings since assuming power. Given the Senate has only been in session 100 days (the House, 92 days), that works out to six hearings per day, or one every 1.5 hours. The bashing covers everything from wiretapping to President Bush's global warming science.
Do read it all. It discusses a number of bad moves the Democratic leadership have allowed to happen. It should be a real warning to the Democrats that the poll numbers are as bad as they are for Congress. As I have pointed out before, those poll numbers are a disaster for the presidential candidates - from either party - that happen to be serving in Congress right now.
The Democrats are still running against George Bush - but Bush is not going to be on the ballot in 2008. These antics may make the far left fringe happy, but they aren't accomplishing any good for the party with the general public. There is a point at which the public tires of political screeching and dung-flinging. According to the polls, the Democrats passed that point a while ago. But they'll just carry on. The only trick these ponies know is Bush hatred.
