The American Spectator

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Democrat Scalpels

7.13.07 @ 12:01AM

OPERATION HOLSINGER
Re: Mark Tooley's Can a Methodist Be U.S. Surgeon General:

The Looney Left is at it again. Democratic senators react to the nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as U.S. Surgeon General much as a patient reacts to a tap to the patella -- with a knee jerk reaction. Dr. Holisinger's beliefs have nothing to do with his abilities as a doctor or the U.S. Surgeon General. I have never asked any physician who has treated me for a position check on religion or politics. The doctor's beliefs beyond medicine are of little interest to me as long as competent and complete medical care is rendered. Are Dr. Holisinger's religious positions at all relevant to the medical advice he will offer the nation? His views on homosexuality are scientific: two male parts do not naturally fit together. The fact that he agrees with the moral positions of his church is not at all germane to his abilities to serve his nation. Further, the position of Surgeon General is largely symbolic. As the old wag goes, to the victor goes the spoils. Despite the current troubles that the GOP is facing (has brought upon itself), they did win the White House; President Bush has the right to appoint competent people to vacant positions. The Senate has the right and responsibility to advise on these appointments. Sadly, once again, many senators confuse giving advice with mud slinging.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

SCOUTING NEW JERSEY
Re: Hal G.P. Colebatch's The Pope and the Boy Scouts:

Thank you, Mr. Colebatch, for reporting on the Pope's tribute to the Boy Scout. It brought to mind an editorial in yesterday's New Jersey Star Ledger which insisted that New Jersey's Civil Unions law didn't go far enough, and that "gay marriage" was necessary to ensure civil rights to homosexuals. That in turn recalled the New Jersey State Supreme Court's decision in 2006 that ordered the State Assembly to craft legislation providing for civil unions. This is the same supreme court that earlier had inexplicably and unanimously ascertained that the Boy Scouts were a "public accommodation," in an effort to force the Boy Scouts to accept a homosexual scout master. Fortunately the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision ( the usual suspects, Breyer, Ginsburg, Souter and Stevens dissenting) slapped down the New Jersey court, which has proven itself to be little more than an outcome-based liberal advocacy group. I imagine that I won't be seeing anything about the Pope and the Boy Scouts in the [Red] Star Ledger.
-- Paul DeSisto
Cedar Grove, New Jersey

LOSING A TWO-FRONT WAR
Re: Jeffrey Lord's Lizard Listing:

In this piece, Jeffrey Lord touches upon George Bush's other war: the one against the bureaucracy.

The Plame business was the highest profile battle of this conflict -- a conflict which has been covered almost not at all by the media.

Bush has tried to wrest some the power from the bureaucrats -- and that is the ultimate government no-no.

The standard scenario calls for an administration to be voted in, strut and fret its way around Washington for four or eight years -- and then go away (often with many of its component parts being absorbed into the bureaucracy).

Meanwhile, the "pros" work along, running things pretty much as they want to no matter what noises come out of the White House.

Bush tried to change this -- and, perhaps, battling both terrorists and bureaucrats is just too much.
-- Bill Naegele
Albuquerque, New Mexico

While Republican Presidents in general have not been as ruthless as the Dems when taking over the Executive Branch from the Dems, the Bush Administration has led the list in not only not ousting the Dems that they could, but in holding over and re-appointing Clinton partisans within the government. There was the retention of the Director of the CIA, for starters. There is Maura Harty at State that Powell, and now Rice, keep promoting despite one fiasco after another, and obvious undermining of administration policy edicts. There is Paul Bremmer, who was the initial official on the ground to screw up post-invasion Iraq.

There is the edict by Bush himself that no member of the Clinton White House team would be charged for the vandalism at the White House on their way out. There is the faint-hearted prosecution and mild pat on the wrist received by Sandy "Socks" Berger, while a Bush prosecutor insures serious prison time for law enforcement officers trying to enforce our laws against ILLEGAL aliens. On top of that, Bush won't even roll up his sleeves and fight the Dems for his judicial nominees.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that Bush, and some other GOP presidents, are not serious about partisan politics. They treat it very much as a gentleman's diversion at their men's club, subject to all the niceties that one would find at the Harvard Club or the Skull and Bones Society. To the left, partisan politics goes beyond a blood sport to full-scale blood feuds, and they darn well are going to treat it as such each and every time. The most recent proof lies in the actions and tactics of the Congress, now that both Houses are in Democrat control. Contrast that with the way that business was run under the direction of Trent Lott, or Dr. Frist, or Speaker Dennis Hastert, or various chairman of standing committees of the two Houses of Congress.

When the GOP really gets serious, and efficient, and vicious about partisan politics like the Dems, then some of this SP vs. T-warrior stuff will ease up. But then that is the identical same problem between the PC war fighting that the administration insists on in Iraq versus the deadly serious and completely vicious, no rules fighting from the Islamic Jihadists. This difference of war fighting methodology has, I figure, cost us about double the KIA and WIA and years of combat than were necessary. The moral to the story for me is that, if you are going to do something, do it right, or don't do it at all.

Letter to the Editor

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