FLOTSAM & JETSAM

VICTORY WITH NO PLACE TO GO

Sam Smith

REP. CHARLES RANGEL IS PLANNING to introduce legislation that would
revive the national draft. Reports Reuters, "Asked on CBS' 'Face the
Nation' if he was still serious about the proposal for a universal draft
he raised a couple of years ago, he said, "You bet your life. Underscore
serious. . . If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea
and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we
can't do that without a draft," he said.

The news points out the problem of winning an election without knowing
that the hell you're up to. People like Rangel get to cop the coverage.
Rangel is a blowhard who replaced Adam Clayton Powell in 1970. Powell,
though corrupt, worked with Lyndon Johnson to pass more good legislation
in less time than any two politicians in American history. Rangel has
done little memorable other than to often vote the right way.

Among these votes was opposition to the Iraq war. At the same time,
however, Rangel has been a leading proponent of the war on drugs which
has killed more young blacks than died in either Iraq or Vietnam. In
fact, as a public policies go, it's been one of the most deadly for
young black males since the end of slavery. And it also was the proving
ground for the Patriot Act and similar abominations.

But the evils of the war on drugs never made it to the liberal table.
Bill Clinton, for example, set a record in sending young black males to
prison and Toni Morrison still thought he was our first black president.


Also on some liberal's new agenda: impeaching the president. One could
hardly think of a better way to submerge the issues the Democrats will
need for 2008, but if it makes you feel good, what the hell?

Fortunately, Rep. John Conyers, who'll likely head the House Judiciary
Committee, isn't impressed: "We need to put aside any thought of anger
or payback. Instead we need to focus on identifying and correcting
abuses and pass legislation which serves the interests of the American
people. . . I have agreed with Speaker-to-be Pelosi that impeachment is
off the table."

Here's an easy tip to figure out which are the best issues to push:
those that do the most good for the most number of Americans go to the
top of the list; those that mainly only make liberal activists feel warm
and fuzzy get second seating.

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