I didn't think it would happen this fast, but the people are in the streets, and half of the states are considering legislation to reject the Fed.Gov's overstepping of their authority. I had thought that "A Bridge Too Far" was the appropriate analogy. But this isn't Market Garden, it's the Battle Of The Bulge: an out of touch, megalomaniac leader who doesn't realize that the tide of history is rolling against him thinks that one final push can break through to Brussels*. Instead, he gets hung up at a crossroads while his army gets cut to pieces in the counter attack. Nancy Pelosi must feel like Joachim Peiper, out of gas but within sight of the river Meuse, having to abandon his equipment on the field of battle.
Can it possibly be true that the
* Yes, I know the objective was Antwerp. But Obama's objective is to make Washington into Brussels. Work with me.
6 comments:
Having the States take the lead may mean that a Constitutional solution is still possible. It gives me hope.
Can it possibly be true that the Republican Party leadership played rope-a-dope with the Democratic congressional delegations, keeping their powder dry until they had a warehouse of video clips for the November election?
I don't think they're that smart. I also think that if they did have that in mind, they've got a real problem. See, I still don't believe the Washingtonian R's really understand the Tea Party movement. They don't understand that they've woken a tiger by yanking on its tail, and they're as likely as the D's are to get mauled by it.
additional thought:
But this isn't Market Garden, it's the Battle Of The Bulge:
I'm not sure either of those is an adequate analogy. Market-Garden is closer than Wacht Am Rhein, though, because prior to this the D's were on the offensive.
Myself, I thought about the famous battles of WW2 and came up with two other possible analogs to use: the siege of Stalingrad, at which the German invasion of Russia finally sputtered out, and the Battle of El Alamein, where a "top German general" was revealed to be no match at all for an Allied general who knew his tricks and how to stop them.
If the Ds get flattened in the election, then it couldn't happen to people who deserve it more.
Jim
I'm reading a book called "Give Me Liberty," by Naomi Wolf, and while I don't like her politics, she is very much advocating for free speech and more citizen involvement. There is a quote in it that says, "Greatness comes from personal involvement," and up until recently, I think that the common man was content to sit back and let things happen.
Healthcare is a large opportunity for both sides--whether or not it passes, there is going to be a major change, either in the direction of more government or less. But things will not be the same.
The Nancy Pelosi-as-Jochen Peiper analogy seems more appropriate each day. I think we're gonna start finding the Malmedy bodies when the snow melts...
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