Dear Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid,
The Democrats have now run Congress for 2 days. We, on this Blog are pleased! I am excited about the 100 hour agenda. I like the new ethics rules and I hope you will keep them in place for longer than the previous Congress. I like that you want to tackle student loan interest rates, bankruptcy reforms, the minimum wage, earmark reforms, etc.
But I have a personal request. I have been glancing at C-Span on and off and I am a bit dismayed at the number of people in the party who are using words like "revolution" and "mandate". Please make your people stop using words like that. There hasn't been a revolution. The majorities you now hold are too slim to be called either a mandate or a revolution, and you all know it. Furthermore, you are lowering yourselves to the level of the Republicans. That is what Bush tried to claim after winning by a slim and questionable majority. Members who talk about some mythical "revolution" or "mandate" sound like gloating Republicans. I ask that if they are going to insist on using such terms, they do it somewhere other than the people's floor, perhaps behind closed doors over brandy or a double scotch, away from the media.
As for the "non-partisan" promise . . . don't make it. Don't make promises you can't keep. Don't make promises that you won't keep! By saying things like that, you will do little to ease the public's unease over the quality of Congress. You'll just look like and be another group of liars. Be better. Be Democrats! Let's bring civility back, but let's remember that you are Democrats and they aren't. Work with them, by all means. But then win. Bring home the victories that we in the hard working middle class so desperately need.
Finally, quit calling the pay-as-you-go system "Paygo". It just sounds dumb and you gusy aren't so clever as the Republicans when it comes to creating buzz words. So stop. Pay-as-you-go is a nice, if impossible idea. But hey, I like that you aim high So say it as it should be said. Speak English for heaven's sake, and call it pay-as-you-go.
These are my modest requests.
Thank you for your time.
A Citizen
Friday, January 05, 2007
Dear Nancy and Harry
Posted by USWest at 11:31 PM
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11 comments:
Amen!
// posted by Raised By Republicans
Actually, I don't mind so much calling the dramatic shift of the 2006 election a "mandate" (although "revolution" is way out.) Unlike the 2004 election, in which the electorate essentially reinforced the status quo, in 2006 we saw a swing of just about ALL the seats in the House and Senate that were the least bit competitive! In a system where incumbents are at a huge advantage (see previous posts on redistricting...) this does, indeed, represent a strong shift in opinion.
I find it interesting that both leaders are Democrats from the West. Is that a frist as well??
// posted by USWest
"Is that a frist..." In the sense that Harry Reid is now the "Frist" in the Senate, yes... and also in the sense that it has not happened before :-)
I just wanted to let everyone know (so that you can be appropriately proud of me ;-p) that I've been refraining completely from querying USWest's request that Congress speak 'English'...
And in all seriousness, I also want to agree with your points (especially limiting the politico speak to behind closed doors!), and ask for an explanation of 'frist' in the comments - I just assumed it was a typo of first, but is frist actually a word too?
// posted by Pombat
Ha! It was a typo. I was never one for good typing or spelling for that matter. Haven't you noticed? In addition, I was struck with especially dyslexic keyboarding tendencies since having spent a year typing on French keyboards. I haven’t gotten over it. The hardest inversion for me to catch is “ing” endings often appearing as “nig”. Alas, what can one do when one is too lazy to spell check everything and too interested in content to see typos?
But enough about my faults! Dr. S, in all his cleverness, is referring to the former Senate Majority (Republican) Leader, Bill Frist. Cute. If I were a poser, I'd say I'd meant it all along!
And Pombat, as far as everyone else is concerned, we may speak American. But then that would mean that there are such things as Canadian, Australian, and New Zealander. Sorry, but English is now a generic brand. Perhaps we should stop capitalizing it as well? ;-)
// posted by USWest
btw, USWest, I wrote something about this in an earlier post too. In a comment to that post, LTG noted that the West was becoming increasingly Blue.
Yes, LTG. I do remember something being said. This is why, by the way, I bothered to take notice that the leaders were from there. These states are increasinly blue, but they aren't blue yet. So having two leaders from those states is interesting nonetheless.
Sorry that I can't remember every detail of every post that goes up. There are many other things that I read besides the blog.
// posted by USWest
USWest: no offense was intended! The older post was small and buried in a whole bunch of pre-election discussion... I didn't expect anyone would remember it.
I was just immodestly tootling my own trumpet.
Ok. No problem. No worries. I misunderstood. Sorry as well to LTG.
// posted by USWest
By the way, "paygo" has been Capitol Hill slang for more or less 10 years. So it's annoying, but it's not likely to change nor is it the fault of the current Democratic majority. It still beats calling the President "Potus" or the Supreme Court "Scotus"...
// posted by LTG
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