Who makes foreign policy in the USA?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Funny how only the Republicans ever manage this.

Who said that? The Republicans have just been more productive at creating Astroturf groups. It's these think tanks and bogus study groups which can churn out a lot of propaganda disguised as objective thinking. The Dems have just fallen down on the job in this area until recently though they've finally woken up and are now taking action. It will be at least a decade before they catchup to the Republicans though.

[Kuciwalker]

It's these think tanks and bogus study groups which can churn out a lot of propaganda disguised as objective thinking. The Dems have just fallen down on the job in this area until recently though they've finally woken up and are now taking action.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

A potential Presidential candidate?

No. Tossed out of her leadership position by her own party...

After getting re-elected as speaker for years even after his unethical (and likely criminal) behavior was well known.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
After getting re-elected as speaker for years even after his unethical (and likely criminal) behavior was well known.

[Ramo]

It's recently come out that when Gingrich went to China saber-rattling in defiance of the Clinton Admin's official policy, none other than current Minority Leader Boehner was by his side. And when the Clinton Admin was trying to stop Colombia's gov't from supporting right wing paramilitaries (i.e. "terrorists"), our recently deposed Speaker Dennis Hastert was in Bogota trying to get the gov't to ignore the US Ambassador.

It's adorable watching right-wingers desperately latch onto this story, since they have no hope of traction with anything else.

[Ramo]

Democrats say the complaints have a certain political expediency to them, and note that many of the same people criticizing Ms. Pelosi’s decision to delve into foreign policy were fine when Newt Gingrich, then the Republican speaker of the House, made his own foray into foreign policy back in 1997.

The Republican House leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, criticized Ms. Pelosi’s trip, telling reporters that she was in Syria “for one reason, and that is to embarrass the president.” In 1997, Mr. Boehner accompanied Mr. Gingrich to China, and called the trip “very educational.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/washington/07diplo.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

And Henry Waxman argues for the right of Syrian dissidents :

In Syria, she said Mr. Waxman made a case-by-case appeal to Mr. Assad on the behalf of Syrian dissidents. She said they met for more than an hour with Mr. Assad and more than three hours with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker

Now I know I won since you resort to junk like that when you've run out of ideas.

Ethics charges

Gingrich was accused of unethical behavior in the media when he accepted an advance as part of a book deal. Following the accusations, Gingrich returned the advance.[citation needed]

Including charges related to the book deal, Democrats filed 84 ethics charges against Speaker Gingrich during his term, including claiming tax-exempt status for a college course run for political purposes and using the GOPAC political action committee as a slush fund; see Joseph Gaylord. All charges were eventually dropped following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.[23] He made up for the cost of the investigation by reimbursing the Committee $300,000.[24]

[edit] Fall from speakership, resignation from the House

By 1998, Gingrich had become a highly visible and polarizing figure in the public's eye, making him an easy target for Democratic congressional candidates across the nation.[citation needed] In 1997 a strong majority of Americans believed Gingrich should have been replaced as Speaker of the House, and he held an all-time low job approval rating of 28%.[25] During this period, Gingrich was at the forefront of Republican calls for the investigation and impeachment of President Clinton for committing perjury by lying under oath during the Lewinsky scandal,[citation needed] and he focused on the perjury charges as a unifying campaign theme in national Republican advertising. Republicans did not focus on the tryst itself but rather the perjurious statements made by the President in connection with the incident. Democratic candidates in races across the country targeted Gingrich specifically during the campaign season.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich

Gingrich was basically laundering money to get around campaign finance laws. There was a list of some 85 ethics violations for this guy; he was just sleazy to the point of being criminal and the Republicans loved him. They just didn't care that the guy was a big crook.

[Ecthy]

Not sure if he's dim witted, last time I checked he's just a teen.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
You really are dim witted sometimes.

And you're a complete dunce. The was not an expression of disbelief.

[Kuciwalker]

for the slow: blasting Gingrich isn't helping Oerdin's position one bit.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Ramo

It's adorable watching right-wingers desperately latch onto this story, since they have no hope of traction with anything else.

Seriously. Everything is bad for the wingnuts; 63% of Americans support a deadline for pulling out of Iraq, Bush now has just 28% approval and that's dragging down other Republicans, there's hardly a Republican left who will appear in public with Gonzo or Rove, etc...

The poor insane wingnut arm of the Republican Party just has to latch on to this and hope to distract Americans because EVERYTHING else is bad for them.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Ecthy
Not sure if he's dim witted, last time I checked he's just a teen.

You're right. I edited it out because it was inappropriate. Kuci isn't dim witted; he's just a little kid.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Arrian
Ned,

Bush *is* stupid and incompetant and unfit to govern. It does not necessarily follow, however, that the Dems are smart, competant and fit to govern. Unfortunately.

Talk radio will rot your brain.

-Arrian

Arrian, true words.

But, when one campaigns on the issue we should expect a bit more, shouldn't we?

BTW, I wonder how voters would have voted had they known that Pelosi would conduct her own foreign policy to the extent the Dems disagreed with the president? I know many Dems would have cheered. But some who voted for Democrats surely are more cautious and respectful of the constitution.

[Imran Siddiqui]

But some who voted for Democrats surely are more cautious and respectful of the constitution.

... and realize that nothing Pelosi is doing is any way violative of said Constitution.

[Kuciwalker]

Isn't she supporting the DC bill?