My hometown NPR station in DC is WAMU, which features a local reporting outfit known as the Capitol News Connection. Who is behind it, I know not. Every weekday morning, during 'Morning Edition,' WAMU includes CNC's 'Power Breakfast' which features a snotty, snarky guy, who sounds like a pimply teenager, named something like 'Todd Zoellick.' I think that this is WAMU's attempt to sound 'hip' and 'relevant' to 'them young people'. Generally, Power Breakfast Todd's snarky comments generally are directed at Democrats and-- (a term which infuriates me) 'The Democrat Party.' Young Todd must have been drinking Jack Daniels' shots with Mitch McConnell last night. Todd baby was practically crowing about how the 'Democrat Congress had done nothing' in 2007 and how it will do less next year, since 2008 is an election year.
Callow Todd also mentioned gleefully that Joe Lieberman was 'yucking it up with Republicans after the Iraq War funding vote.'
Of course, Baby Todd and his gang of pin-striped Beltway Babies didn't bother to mention to us that this GOP minority is THE WORST minority in history. No one who reports for 'Power Breakfast' would bother to mention the report released by Bill Sher and Campaign for America's Future regarding the Obstructionist Republican Congressional Minority. You can access this report at: http://home.ourfuture.org
Record-Breaking Obstruction: How It Screwed You
By Bill Scher on December 19, 2007 - 1:57pm.
On this historic yet soon-to-be infamous day of record-breaking conservative obstruction, our "Block and Blame" report (PDF) reminds me of Sen. Trent Lott's all-too-candid words from April, "The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail ... and so far it's working for us."
It's certainly true, if not terribly insightful, that obstructionism can either work or fail.
When it works, it's because you obstructed things that voters didn't want in the first place -- like privatizing Social Security.
When it fails, it's because you obstructed things that voters want their government to do.
What have conservatives obstructed this year? Here's just a partial list:
-- Ending the disastrous occupation of Iraq.
-- Providing health insurance to millions more kids.
-- Empowering Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.
-- Taking away handouts to Big Oil so we can invest in renewable energy.
-- Repealing the effective ban on embryonic stem cell research.
-- Investing more in health research.
-- Making it easier for workers to join unions.
-- Investing more in fighting poverty and training workers.
Is obstructing all of that popular legislation "working" for Republicans?
Here's the approval rating for congressional Republicans this month:
-- According to USA Today/Gallup: 26%.
-- According to ABC/W. Post: 32%
-- According to the Harris poll: 23%
Bravo, obstruction.
Yes, the rating for Democrats is not great either.
But it's higher than the Republicans in two of the three polls -- USA Today/Gallup says 30% and ABC/W. Post says 40%.
And considering that all of the above initiatives boast majority support from the public, clearly the frustration with Democrats is not what they're fighting for, but how hard they're fighting.
That doesn't translate into any additional support for the conservative obstructionists.
The only hope the obstructionists have is for the media to fail to inform the voters what is being obstructed.
And since we know we can't rely on the media to tell the full story, it's up to us to spread the word.
Well, I'm spreading the word! After I got incredibly disgusted with NPR, WAMU, and Capitol News Connection, I switched to a 'Morning Zoo'Radio Program, where the announcers were cheerfully discussing the scurrilous National Inquirer story about John Edwards. Good God, liberals can't ever get a break with today's media!.