Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

• The Senate is ready to get a “major debate on immigration”underway this week, though the prospects for a comprehensive overhaul are “shaky” at best. Senate republicans want tougher rules than last year’s bill had, including “longer waits, bigger fines and a trip home to the country of origin.” (This seems to be the conservative’s aim for this session, but in think it’s more of a republican attempt to divert focus from the Iraq war to something “positive” that the party can use for campaigning. Confidential note to republicans; ain’t gonna work)
• In an attempt to quell the violence in Iraq, “President” Bush has given his okay for the U.S. to have direct talks with Iran. (But ’m confused, are they still part of the Axis of Evil?)
• There’s at least one republican who is hoping that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg won’t run for President, and that’s the man that Bloomberg replaced, Rudy Giuliani. A New York Daily News poll released Monday showed that 46% of New Yorkers chose Bloomberg while only 29% chose Giuliani in a head-to-head Presidential matchup of the two mayors. Adding to Giuliani’s ulcer is the knowledge that 56% say Bloomberg is a more effective mayor than Rudy ever was. (I’m gonna say ‘ouch’ for Rudy there. Is the luster of his campaign really coming off that quickly??)
• The republicans are at it again. With public memory of the Jack Abramoff scandal waning, quite a few republican members of Congress are questioning whether lobbying reform is a necessity. (This is just sad… just because the public’s interest in something is waning doesn’t mean you have to drop reforms altogether. Something needs to be done or the republicans, and to a much lesser extent some Democrats, will revert back to “culture of correuption” that helped oust the gop last November. Don’t let up Dems, keep at it, even if the general public has forgotten it!)
• Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) got into it during an appearance on CNN Sunday Graham said that Bush’s Iraq critics are calling the troops losers: “Let’s don’t undercut [Bush’s escalation plan]. Let’s don’t declare this war lost because you’re telling all these soldiers and Petraeus that they’re losers.” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) immediately ripped into Graham’s characterization, stating, “I don’t know anyone who opposes this war that ever said our troops are losers. Our troops are winners…. Lindsey, just be careful what you say. The bottom line here is that the losers are the ones who have engineered this war, made a huge mistake — Dick Cheney we’re in the last throes, the war will last six months — and all of you who have supported this escalation and have turned us away from fighting al Qaeda into putting us in the middle of a civil war.” Ms. Boxer concluded her portion of the interview with; “The loser is the Commander-in-Chief who has not led our country well.” (Game. Point. Match to Ms. Boxer, who, like Speaker Pelosi, seems to have bigger balls than some of her male counterparts. Keep it up Senator!)