The Fighting 29th
A new blog has stepped into the NY-29 fray. Or, more accurately, above the fray. The Fighting 29th promises to take a rigorous look at House race and provide in-depth analysis, putting both candidates under the microscope. I say, great! The more eyes on this race, the better.Â
A while ago I commented on Kuhl’s spokesperson framing his recent Iraq junket as a matter of oversight. My take was, that was laughable– unquestionably voting with Bush 93% of the time (and against the majority of his constituents) can hardly be called “oversight”. The Fighting 29th takes the analysis a welcome step further:
Van Wicklin noted that “oversight is an important part of the job” and that “He (Kuhl) votes on the defense budget.” That’s mighty thin. If you go beyond Van Wicklin’s Schoolhouse Rock version of how a bill becomes a law, there’s the little matter of committees. Kuhl isn’t on a single committee that has anything to do with Iraq. If Van Wicklin’s right, 747s full of legislators would be winging over to Iraq on a regular basis. Obviously, they’re not, because only committee members can exercise meaningful oversight. The rest, like Randy, are there for the nickel tour.
So, Randy’s in Iraq as a member-at-large with four other representatives who support the war and don’t have Iraq-related committee assignments. He’s there for a few hours, spends time at an airbase and flies around in a helicopter. What else could he do but gather anecdotes and get his picture taken with local troops?
I’m looking forward to more of this. Expect lots of links going forward, but for right now, go and check it out. Some great posts for a blog that just started.
Well said.
Thanks for the plug.