Whenever you go out and buy something from the store, there's almost always a return policy. Usually you can buy something, give it a try, and then, if you don't like it, return it a few days later without too much trouble. It's something stores do to help encourage you to buy an item because you are secure in the knowledge that if you don't like it or it doesn't work, you can get your money back.
Today, as I read about the current thinking amongst Democrats on capital hill, I think to myself: say, is it too late to return this?
Last election cycle I sent checks to a number of candidates, the DNC, etc, all in an effort to get Democrats elected. My naive belief was that if we could get a majority, we could finally end the debacle in Iraq and return some sort of sanity to how our government works. At the time, it seemed like a worthwhile investment.
Oooooh, Shiny!
You know how when you work hard, save up, and buy something, there's that initial consumerist thrill of having a new shiny bauble? That's how I felt on election night. My investments had paid off, more or less, and we had a crop of new Democratic legislators, ready to take charge. Heck, it even got extended a few days as I watched what seemed like a slim minority turned into a slim majority. My god, WE had power again!
Of course I should have known better. None of those candidates were even going to take office within 30 days, so I'd be well beyond the return policy of most retail stores. In fact, they just barely took power at the 60 day mark, after my credit card company would no longer allow me to contest the charges.
So when I still maybe had a chance to get my money back, it looked like my shiny new bauble was really going to be a great shiny bauble. We had 100 hours of great ideas getting passed by the house, and everything was looking good. Clearly I'd made a good purchasing decision.
Buyers Remorse
But then it came time to talk about the Iraq War. There was this talk of a Surge and I saw my new Democrats appearing to weaken. Many people complained about how they'd bought a lemon, but I defended my purchase, knowing that while yes, they had some power, there were still some limitations. Impeachment isn't quite feasible yet, but come time for budget discussions, boy would our investments pay off.
Bush sent out his request for more money for the Iraq war, and I thought, "AHA! Now we've got them!" I kept waiting for the Democrats to seriously curtail the war funding, and begin setting a date for withdrawal. But then somehow the purse strings got all tangled up. I heard talk about limiting Bush's power in some fashion, forcing him to stick to certain rules about how troops could be used, etc. It seemed kinda weak, but hey, maybe this would set the gears in motion to impeach him. My shiny bauble was still a little shiny but seemed somehow tarnished now
What precisely are you conversing about Willis?
So then I read today... I read today about how the Democrats are talking about putting restrictions on Bush's war, but then giving him an out. So all Bush has to do is say he's taking his out, and then they let him. What the hell?!? I've just written a letter to customer service (my Rep Rahm Emanuel) asking him to explain why this is happening. Haven't heard back yet, and I don't suspect that I'll get any useful response. Isn't this the sort of thing that's covered under the warranty? In fact, now that I think about it, did you guys even send me a copy of the warranty? Or a receipt for that matter?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we've bought ourselves a lemon. Some huckster in a nice suit sold us on this notion that if we just bought this gently used car of a party, we'd be able to solve our problems. Yet within months, it sounds like the transmission's about to die. Oh wait, maybe that was the gnashing of my teeth, not the clutch.
Maybe I can ebay it...