The 110th Congress took their oath of office today and in doing so my congresswoman (California's 8th congressional district) became the first woman, the first Californian, and the first San Franciscan to be elected by the House of Representatives as Speaker.The Democrats control both houses of Congress in this new session, for the first time in 12 years, and work began almost immediately.
Many of the 'talking heads' on the cable news channels (especially MSNBC's blowhard Chris Matthews) are trying to lay Iraq at the Democrats' door now that they are the majority congressional party.
The Democrats need to fight back on this. The legislative branch of our government, as per the Constitution, can only declare war (and that was done for this war in 2002); beyond that, their hand in war planning is pretty limited. The President, in his role as Commander-in-Chief, runs the war and conducts foreign policy. This war is George W.Bush's, and only he must held responsible for its failures...and its successes.
The new Congress, with its Democratic majorities, should check the President at every turn. Hold hearings, ask questions, refuse to be railroaded by the incompetents in the White House. Mr. Bush had 6 years at the helm without any checks and balances. It's time he learned that that is not how the founding fathers envisioned things.
