Democrats Break Key Campaign Promise, Already

Democrats are already backing down from a key campaign promise that they made during this year's campaign. They promised that if elected they would implement all of the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission recommendations.

Well now, of course, they are not going to implement the wholesale reorganizaiton of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. They are going to create another panel to look into the matter.

According to the 9/11 Commission, the reorganization was one of the most important elements in their report.

It may seem like a minor matter, but members of the commission say Congress's failure to change itself is anything but inconsequential. In 2004, the commission urged Congress to grant the House and Senate intelligence committees the power not only to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies but also to fund them and shape intelligence policy. The intelligence committees' gains would come at the expense of the armed services committees and the appropriations panels' defense subcommittees. Powerful lawmakers on those panels would have to give up prized legislative turf.

But the commission was unequivocal about the need.

"Of all our recommendations, strengthening congressional oversight may be among the most difficult and important," the panel wrote. "So long as oversight is governed by current congressional rules and resolutions, we believe the American people will not get the security they want and need."

Republicans and Bush were honest, at least, and told the American people that they were not going to implement all the recommendations. There were only "recommendations".

Democrats, however, were very clear about their desire to implement all of the recommendations, implying Bush and the Republicans were leaving America in danger by not doing so.

I am curious what the Democrats and Liberals who supported and voted for Democrats think about the safety of America now. Why don't they want what the Commission considers one of the most important recommendations??? They said they did only a month ago...