Is civility disappearing totally from government?

Has this financial crisis created an atmosphere so unhealthy that we now have the Speaker of the House referring to Republicans as “unpatriotic” for their not attending a scheduled meeting?

Perhaps she should have conferred with Senator Dodd prior to uttering those words:

More from the House GOP offices:

Well, we didn’t go to yesterday’s meeting because they didn’t invite us. Dodd even said on NBC nightly news last night that they just forgot.
It’s pretty infuriating.

[emphasis-mine]

Interesting that the Democrats were so anxious to pin the failure of the original deal on the financial bail out on the Republicans and John McCain when it appears it was their own Presidential candidate who inflicted the damage at the White House meeting:

…..This according to Bob Schieffer of CBS.[emphasis-mine]

Paulson called Lindsey Grahamnesty and said, “Look, I need the House Republicans. I need Republicans on this. We can’t get anywhere without them. You’ve gotta call McCain. He’s the only one that can do it.” So that’s why McCain goes to Washington, and they end up having a four o’clock meeting at the White House yesterday. They all think they’re going into a negotiating session. The president, in order to let everybody be heard, deferred to various Democrats, and every one of the Democrats — Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, and Frank — declined to speak and deferred to Obama. So Obama became the official Democrat spokesman in the meeting. This was to hype Obama’s leadership and presidential aura and so forth. What happened next, the first thing out of Obama’s mouth — Paulson is in the meeting — is he starts ripping the House Republican proposal and asks Paulson what he thinks of it.

This led Boehner and the other Republicans in there to think they have been sandbagged. We found out this morning that Obama had no clue — because he was in transit doing other things, he had no clue — what the House Republican position was. What happened was that on the way to the meeting sometime during the day, Obama’s staff received an e-mail from Treasury Department employees who work for Paulson detailing the House Republican plan. So when the Democrats deferred to Obama, he launched into that. He had no clue what it was. That’s why he asked Paulson for his comments. I don’t know what Paulson said, but this is what led to the fireworks. This is what led to everything breaking down in there. This is why Dingy Harry walked out, ’cause it didn’t work.

[All references to Senators by other than their proper title are those of Rush Limbaugh]

Remember it was the Democrats who insisted the insertion of presidential politics was not helpful in this debate yet they allowed their candidate to speak on their behalf.

If this is indeed what transpired, then not only did the Democrats stretch the truth at the completion of the meeting, but it was extremely disrespectful to the President of the United States.

What egos these Senators and Congresspersons must have to place themselves and their politics above the Executive and the country which it serves.

If memory serves, both McCain and Obama are Senators first candidates second and they should be in Washington in their official capacity as such in an attempt to move this process forward, not garner political points.

There is plenty of blame to go around in this financial mess but deliberately falsifying facts (on either side of the aisle) and calling members of the opposing party “unpatriotic” serves no purpose and the effects will no doubt be long lasting.

*For those who would like to read the thoughts of an international auditor in the insurance industry regarding this crisis check out the piece at the link. Quite an interesting and enlightening read.

What a powerful ad this is.

It really makes no difference which political campaign from which it emanates, but rather indicates how many would hope the political factions in this country should work towards the betterment of America.

HT:Classical Values

Senator McCain may have had moments in his career where his temper flared but this certainly was not one of them. I’d have to say he had an abundance of patience (more than I could have shown) with this female reporter.

Her snippy answer of “never mind” when McCain asked her to repeat herself upon her accusation of his being angry is one of the reasons I could not ever run for public office.

Unless you are their chosen one the disrespect with which you are treated has become unbearable to watch read and hear.

Shame on Fox News for their description of this encounter and shame on this journalist for not having an intelligent question to ask the GOP nominee which would address the important issues we face in this country.

Stu Byofsky has an op-ed up at Philly.com (Philadelphia Daily News) saying it will take another 9/11 to bring our country back together again.

ONE MONTH from The Anniversary, I’m thinking another 9/11 would help America.
What kind of a sick bastard would write such a thing?

A bastard so sick of how splintered we are politically - thanks mainly to our ineptitude in Iraq - that we have forgotten who the enemy is.

It is not Bush and it is not Hillary and it is not Daily Kos or Bill O’Reilly or Giuliani or Barack. It is global terrorists who use Islam to justify their hideous sins, including blowing up women and children.

Iraq has fractured the U.S. into jigsaw pieces of competing interests that encourage our enemies. We are deeply divided and division is weakness.

Most Americans today believe Iraq was a mistake. Why?

Not because Americans are “anti-war.”

Americans have turned their backs because the war has dragged on too long and we don’t have the patience for a long slog. We’ve been in Iraq for four years, but to some it seems like a century. In contrast, Britain just pulled its soldiers out of Northern Ireland where they had been, often being shot at, almost 40 years.

That’s not the American way.

In Iraq, we don’t believe our military is being beaten on the battleground. It’s more that there is no formal “battleground.” There is the drip of daily casualties and victory is not around the corner. Americans are impatient. We like fast food and fast war.

Americans loved the 1991 Gulf War. It raged for just 100 hours when George H.W. Bush ended it with a declaration of victory. He sent a half-million troops into harm’s way and we suffered fewer than 300 deaths.

America likes wars shorter than the World Series.

Bush I did everything right, Bush II did everything wrong - but he did it with the backing of Congress.

Because the war has been a botch so far, Democrats and Republicans are attacking one another, when they aren’t attacking themselves. The dialog of discord echoes across America.

Turn back to 9/11.

Remember the community of outrage and national resolve? America had not been so united since the first Day of Infamy - 12/7/41.

We knew who the enemy was then.

We knew who the enemy was shortly after 9/11.

Because we have mislaid 9/11, we have endless sideshow squabbles about whether the surge is working, if we are “safer” now, whether the FBI should listen in on foreign phone calls, whether cops should detain odd-acting “flying imams,” whether those plotting alleged attacks on Fort Dix or Kennedy airport are serious threats or amateur bumblers. We bicker over the trees while the forest is ablaze.

I’ve quoted most of the article because I think it’s a worthy read, and to an extent I agree with him, unfortunately.

Remember how united our citizens and Congress were after 9/11? We had our Congressmen and Senators on the Capitol steps (a presumed target of the terrorists) singing “God Bless America” and resolved to do whatever it took to beat back this enemy.

Our president told us this would be a long war that would not be a conventional war with conventional enemies. The enemy we have does not wear a uniform, but smiles to our faces while he sets IEDs to explode our vehicles and kill our soldiers and any civilians who happen to be in the way.

Some in Congress look at this from only a political view and wonder how it can help them and their party.

It’s gone so far that Congressman Clyburn of SC, the Democratic Whip in the House has stated if the Petraeus report is fairly positive about the surge (and we are reading articles by AP and Brookings Institution think tank people it is) that it would be bad news for the Democrats.

Why would winning or making progress toward peace in Iraq be bad news for anyone? It is only if your entire political campaign is based on us losing the peace there.

Let there be no mistake: We won the war in a matter of days. It’s the peace that is elusive and we have to leave with the country stable enough to defend itself or our efforts will have been in vain.

I know not everyone agrees with me, but that’s what I think and I really believe it.

I don’t want to test the theory it will take another 9/11 to bring us back together. I want our politicians to do things for the right reasons and those reasons do not include how it will help them get re-elected.

I’d actually love to see all 435 House seats get reversed and replaced with all new Congressmen who have no dog in this fight and will do what is right for our country. Then go home and live under the laws they pass, just as our Founders envisioned.

Captain Ed is blogging this story too.

Is this child-like or what?

They work in the same building. They slog through the same rigorous travel schedule. Along the way, they often cross paths several times a day.

But Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have barely spoken to one another – at least in any meaningful way – for months.

The tension between the two Democratic presidential hopefuls, which spilled over into public view during the past two weeks, has been intensifying since January. It is clear, as the candidates approach a mid-point in their fight for the nomination, that the genteel decorum of the Senate has given way to the go-for-the-jugular instinct of the campaign trail.

As the Senate held an unusually late session of back-to-back votes on Thursday evening, the two rivals kept a careful eye on one another as they moved across the Senate floor.

For more than two hours, often while standing only a few feet apart, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama never approached one another or exchanged so much as a pleasantry. In the clubby confines of the Senate, even the fiercest adversaries are apt to engage in the legislative equivalent of cocktail party chit-chat.

The relationship began to change, according to several Democrats who are friendly to both senators, when Mr. Obama began musing aloud about a presidential bid. The day he opened his exploratory committee, several Senate observers said, he extended his hand and said hello on the Senate floor. She breezed by him, offering a cool stare.

One week later, following the State of the Union address, the two senators found themselves doing a back-to-back interview on CNN. Mr. Obama went first, with Mrs. Clinton pacing a few feet away. Finally, an aide escorted her completely around the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building, avoiding walking directly by Mr. Obama.

The Senate is known for its clubby atmosphere. Even senators from opposing parties banter and have fun while votes are being counted. I’ve seen it hundreds of times on TV.

So what’s with these two? This is an example of why our nation is being torn asunder. Grow up, Senators, the world is watching you both.

AJ Strata hit the nail on the head today with this post. I was particularly impressed with this paragraph:

Most people are quite moderate in their views and open to discussion. I can force some banter through persistence, but it does take work. There are the exceptions, those very vocal. But they tend to be at the extreme ends of the political spectrum. One of the folks I work with just goes off on a liberal tirade against Bush whenever politics comes up - and trust me I like this guy a lot. He is great to work with. But it does seem the intensity of the fringes is muting the voices of the moderates left of center, center and right of center. This is not good for this nation. We need to discuss the issues and resolve a path forward. We need the debate.

One of the many reasons I agreed to write here at J’s was the philosophy she laid out from the very beginning. We would respect the views of those on the right, in the center and on the left and while we might not always agree, we could walk away friends feeling we learned something from civil discussion. Unfortunately, this is something we see very little of whether it be in the press, the blogs or the various mediums of the media.

AJ closes with the following words:

We need to take the time to open up America. And we need to respect the differing views. No more “RINOs”. No more “rightwing”. Because when we do not use our freedom of speech the right way, we end up on a path where we may lose it all together. Showing respect might be hard for some, but it is something we should be doing more of.

Check out the comments under this post while you are there. It seems there are many of us who are feeling the same way these days. Let’s hope it is us who win this battle and not those who do no more than demean and belittle.

We have always heard the Senate is an exclusive club and the world’s most deliberative body. Our founders pictured the House of Representatives as a cup of hot tea, while the Senate was the saucer to cool that tea.

That was then. This is now:

Arlen Specter is a senior United States senator who expects to be allowed his say on the Senate floor. So he bristled when Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, brusquely cut him off at the end of the Iraq debate.

“The leadership is setting a dictatorial tone,” Mr. Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said Thursday, still furious over his treatment the day before. “Senators didn’t get here to be pushed around.”

It may seem small-minded to bicker over a few words at the end of a 24-hour debate. But the clash between the two veteran senators is evidence of a larger breakdown in relations in the Senate, a deterioration in cooperation that is hobbling the Senate’s ability to get things done. The situation is not likely to improve with a presidential election on the horizon.

To read the full exchange and background on Specter’s remarks go to the Las Vegas Review/Journal.

Some have argued that the problem is caused by having a 51-49 Senate, but we have had close Senates before and we have not seen the lack of comity that we are now seeing.

“The last vestiges of courtesy seem to be going out the window,” said Senator Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican who has served as majority and minority leader. “Every time I think the Senate — Republican or Democrat — has gone to a point where you can’t go any lower, we go lower.”

It is hardly startling that members of the two parties do not see eye to eye. And the spirit of bipartisanship in the Senate always rises and falls depending on the subject and the election calendar. But seven months into the new Democratic regime, the environment seems unusually hostile. Occasionally, senators do, too, as exhibited in a Sunday television exchange between Senators Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, that looked for a moment as if it might turn physical as the two men argued about the war in Iraq.

It’s sad for me, as an American citizen raised to love her country and respect its institutions of government, to see what this Senate has become.

It’s sadder yet that I make the comment that I would not be surprised to see the Senators come to fisticuffs the way we see it happen in the Japanese legislature and other countries in the world.

This is not the America I want. I want a government I can be proud of—a government that can work together as co-equal branches. Party affiliation should not matter.

What do you want? Bickering for sport or meaningful legislation that is passed regardless of political agendas for the good of the country?

We may be growing weary of politics. Some days we may even thrown up our hands in disgust and feel there is no hope for this grand old country of ours given the state of affairs in Washington.

I’ve seen friends and family members wrestle with divisions because of their beliefs, sometimes to heartbreaking conclusions.

There is such unrest and dissatisfaction at every turn whether it be with legislation, scandals, cries of voter fraud, politics in the courts or just a distaste for the occupant of the White House.

Civility is disappearing sometimes even among those of us who do our best to keep our opinions limited and prefer to base our thoughts on facts. We view each perceived disagreement as one which will eventually force those with thought differing from ours to either relent or be banished from our lives. I use we not assuming every person who reads this will fit into any of these categories, but based of what is written or spoken in the media and on the internet.

Never before, not even in the 1960’s with all its protests and anger have I experienced so many who have taken up one side in a tug of war and have vowed to never open their mind to a contrary opinion. I was a teen in the 60’s and my Dad upon returning from two tours in Vietnam was treated as an outcast by many. I fear if we continue down this path today we will see the same for our brave souls fighting for freedom as they return..Look up and down your street and think back to 9-11. Flags were everywhere, there were ribbons and candles and patriotism abounded.

What happened? We are a nation of short memory and long campaigns. Perhaps we should inform all the Presidential candidates running for 2008 that we are not yet interested in their platform, after all it will change 100 times in the next year. Maybe we should politely project to Hollywood that the average American is not ready to have them set policy, foreign or otherwise. I do not pretend to have the answers as to why we have divided ourselves so, but we need to return to a time when a conversation if it turns to politics can be handled in a civil and respectful manner.

Let’s remember that this is our country not that of Congress or even the President and perhaps we could begin by attempting to do what Ronald Reagan did when he first assumed the Presidency..restore Patriotism to a tired country. Without pride in our nation it will be left to the vultures who proclaim to work for the will of the people but as of late work only for the will of the next election.

Fly that flag proudly for you are an American. Thank a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who has served us so unselfishly and remember we are not just political parties, we are people who should have one common goal..the very existence of the country and the freedoms we have come to love.

I close with this offering from a favorite site of mine Old Blue Web Designs which has graciously given us permission to link to their work. Johnny Cash reminds us of something of which we can all be proud.