Biden/Kyl smackdown

“I hope I don’t interfere with your Christmas shopping.”

The Veep isn’t having any of the “I’ll be home for Christmas” b.s., thanks.

Get out of the way. There’s too much at stake for America’s national security. … I hope I don’t get in the way of your Christmas shopping, but this is the nation’s business. This is the national security at stake. Act. Act.

I have to believe this is playing well for the Dems and badly for the Reeps.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

7 thoughts on “Biden/Kyl smackdown”

  1. I kind of doubt that this looks good for the Demmies. This is something which could have been brought up and dealt with on a reasonable schedule, and now it is getting tarred with the same taint as the appropriations monstrosities. I expect that the lame duck rush is the origin of the historic lows in approval for the Congress. That doesn't mean anyone will remember, come 2012 - it may be cost free. But to the extent that people do remember, I think it won't be favorable.

  2. @Dave Schutz:

    I agree with you; nobody is likely to remember this incident. However, the cumulation of such incidents is not good for the Republican party, whose identification remains very low even after their big win in November. Anger at the Democrats will go down if the economy goes up; disgust with the Republicans might be a more stable thing.

  3. Not to mention that enough of us have to work *every* holiday, whether or not anything big is going on, and enough of the rest of the country has to order their celebration schedule to accommodate friends and relatives who work without fuss …

    Bunch-o-wusses.

  4. I would have laid on the 'most Americans don't get a week off' bit much more prominently, but it's good to see Dems fight back.

    As for Dave - yes, it could have, and the GOP had many months to consider it. It's their fault for playing games with this nation's security, and the America-haters should be held to account for ti.

  5. It would work well for the Dems if they don't fold & give the Rethugs exactly what they want after all. How many people reading this expect Reid to suddenly grow a backbone? Are you going to bet money? Hold your breath? I didn't think so.

  6. All this (including the holdup of the bill for the 9/11 responders) would (or at least might) have a far greater effect on people's perceptions if the media were doing their job and reporting what's going on. But they're not ('liberal' media, riiiigggghhhhtt.) Or if the Dems were speaking often enough and loudly enough and making the most of this that they could, making enough noise so that the media would be picking up on it more. But this is probably another wasted golden opportunity, which if reversed the Repubs would be using, and using, and using…but which the Dems will ho-hum and get no boost from now or later.

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