Huffington Post has this headline up: "Defeated Dems Limp Out of Washington". The sub-headline is "Congressional Majority Fails to Alter Bush War Plans." The two headlines contain links to articles by the BBC and the Washington Post. If you actually read the two articles, however, a different picture emerges.
The Washington Post article points out the following:
Of the six initiatives on the their "Six for '06" agenda, congressional Democrats sent five to the president and got his signature on four: a minimum-wage increase, implementation of the homeland security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, college cost reduction, and an energy measure that requires conservation and the expanded use of renewable sources of energy. Federal funding for stem cell research was vetoed by Bush.
The BBC article points out that originally Bush wanted 190 billion for his Iraq War and he got 70 billion. Clearly getting less than 50% of what he wanted is no great victory for Bubble-Boy and the Duck Hunter.
Given the facts, then why is Huffington Post depicting what happened in 2007 as "defeat" for the Democratic leadership? The reason is pretty simple: Huffington Post depends on stirring up progressives to get people to come to its website. People coming to the website brings in more advertising revenue, which makes the site profitable. Therefore, like Rush Limbaugh on talk radio, it has a financial interest in keeping its readers ticked off.
Are we saying that 2007 was a great year for Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi? No, but we are saying that it is a lot better than progressive websites want to recognize. And, it is a hell of a lot better than what would have happened if Republicans had kept control of Congress.
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