“I Love It When a Plan Comes Together”

 

You may remember a TV show from the 80’s called The A-Team – the show that pretty much made “Mr.T” a household name.  At some point during the show, when the team was in the process of successfully completing their dangerous mission, many times the Hannibal character (played by George Peppard) would say, “I love it when a plan comes together,” with a cigar hanging out of his mouth and a wry grin.

Somehow, those words… that voice… and that grin are exactly what played in my head this morning after learning the results of yesterday’s election – sans the cigar, of course, since it’s 2006 and we’re talking about Democrats with their worship of all things politically correct.  But kudos to Rahm Emanuel for a well-planned strategy to deliver Congress to the Dems, and to his pal, Chuck Schumer, who worked to deliver the Senate.  They both knew their only chance at victory would be to choose candidates who resembled Republicans, the so-called “Blue-dog Democrats”.  In so doing, the “choice for change” was that much easier for disgruntled Americans impatient with the war. 

The choice was basically: “same” or “different” and, at least in my opinion, many people just want something – anything – different than war.  It matters not that the Democrats have yet to articulate a plan for Iraq, we have been promised that it will be different… and, apparently, for the slimmest of majorities, that was enough.  Hardly a mandate, by anyone’s standards. 

For me, I look forward to watching the Democrats try to accomplish all they have promised, AND within the timeframe they have promised to do it.  The onus of performance is on them from now on and they will be under a microscope.  No longer do they have the luxury of whining, complaining, pointing fingers, calling names and claiming they can do things better… it’s game time, boys and girls.

Nancy Pelosi has been quoted as expressing her desire to “drain the swamp” once she becomes Speaker after more than a decade of a Republican controlled Congress, with a hefty list of goals for her party to accomplish in their first hundred hours. According to an AP interview published in WashingtonPost.com, this is how she has broken it down:

• Day One: Put new rules in place to “break the link between lobbyists and legislation.”
• Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
• Time remaining until 100 hours:
  – Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step.
  – Cut the interest rate on student loans in half.
  – Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
  – Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds, “I hope with a veto-proof majority.”

I will wait with bated breath. 

In the meantime, chances are, “Ms. P” may become as much of a household name as Mr. T.  My guess is that the many people who did not really know who Nancy Pelosi was prior to voting, who allowed their emotions to dictate their decision, those who “voted for change” will be quite surprised at just what type of change they ended up getting.