Countdown

It's the Settlements, Stupid

Volume VII, No. 30
Posted on Tuesday September 5, 2006

It’s the Settlements, Stupid

There’s nothing more dangerous than a politically weak Israeli Prime Minister. Amid mounting criticism of his performance during Israel’s war on Lebanon, PM Ehud Olmert has announced plans to construct 700 new settlements in the West Bank. The plan follows a destructive, but sadly predictable, pattern—as does the US response. Repeating the behavior of his predecessors, like former premiers Shimon Peres (remember the first Qana?) and Ehud Barak, Olmert apparently hopes to use settlements to placate the country’s insatiable right wing. The US response? Sadly predictable and inadequate. “The U.S. position hasn’t changed: the Israeli government shouldn’t expand the settlements,” said a State Department spokesman.

“Burns”ing Down the House

What, exactly, is Montana Senator Conrad Burns’ (R) reelection strategy? Burns, whose strong ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff have tainted his campaign, seems to be his own worst enemy. Indeed, the Treasure State legislator acknowledged, “I can self-destruct in one sentence…Sometimes in one word.” Arab Americans who remember his 2000 slander of Arabs as “ragheads” will not be surprised by his latest gaffe. At a campaign fundraiser last week, Burns warned against a “faceless enemy” who “drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night.” Burns also holds the dubious honor of being named one of Time magazine’s 5 “worst senators.” Other recent foot-in-mouth blunders include joking about the “nice little Guatemalan man” doing work around his house and telling a group of volunteer firefighters they had done “a piss-poor job.” Touché, senator.

Those Coattails Just Aren’t What They Used to Be

While Republican strategist Karl Rove may be sticking with his tried and true election strategy—using the war on terror to scare voters—he is missing a tool widely available to him in previous years: the president. With President George W. Bush’s approval ratings still uncomfortably low, Republican candidates are suddenly stressing their “independence” and “willingness to stand up to their own party.” The Washington Post reports that Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT), “once an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq, said…that the Bush administration should set a time frame for withdrawing U.S. troops.” According to the New York Times, New Jersey senate candidate Thomas Kean has echoed Democratic calls for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Three-term Ohio Congressman Patrick Tiberi (R) stopped just short, according to the Columbus Dispatch, saying, “If I were president, he would not be the defense secretary.”

Maybe They Should Quit Their Day Job

In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, “These People Are Working for Us?,” former Congressman Mickey Edwards (R-OK), who served as chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, provides voters with two very important questions for candidates this November. “First, if elected, do you promise to fulfill your constitutional responsibilities as a member of a separate, independent and equal branch of government? Second, if elected, do you promise to work in a bipartisan manner, open to cooperation with members of the opposing political party?” Edwards also reminds us that “in a parliamentary system, power rests with the executive, and the legislative majority functions in a supporting role. But the U.S. Congress is intended not to be a rubber stamp but a check on presidential power and the principal architect of national priorities…Yet when President Bush thumbs his nose at Congress—declaring his authority to disregard legislation, permitting agency officials to lie to Congress and to walk out of hearings, ignoring clear statutory requirements—members of Congress mumble and pout and do nothing…Candidates for the House and Senate will be making urgent appeals to the voters for the next two-plus months. During that time, citizens can make a few appeals of their own. One is for a Congress that recognizes its responsibilities and takes them seriously. And if they do not get satisfactory assurances, citizens can withhold their votes. Complaining is not enough; it is time for voters to demand a Congress that does its job.”