Democrat's Response to Themselves

Below is the transcript of the Democratic response to President Bush's radio address. I have taken the liberty of adding some commentary.

Transcript: Democrat's Response

The Democratic response has nothing to do with what the President said, but we shall indulge them anyway. The President spoke on the issue of Social Security.

Good morning. I'm Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Good afternoon. I'm Tran Sient.

As the president leaves on a four day trip to Europe to encourage the spread of democracy abroad, our democracy here at home is under attack. There is a whiff of extremism in the air the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. There exists a small group of people who have no tolerance for those whose views are different from theirs and they seek to intimidate everyone else.

I tend to agree. They are named the ACLU, Moveon.org and France.

These small groups are so certain that they are right and everyone else is wrong that they are trying to undermine the age-old checks and balances that the Founding Fathers placed at the center of the Constitution and the republic.They lash out at the time-honored independence of our judicial branch and they seek to undermine the tried and true tradition of the Senate in which the minority party has rights. And unfortunately this small group has tremendous influence over the Republican party and seems to be dictating its politics and policy.

The minority party does have rights. The right to be heard. Rights are accorded by the Constitution, which mentions nothing about the filibuster.

Americans are a mainstream people, and we are a people of faith. Most of us believe deeply in God, but we also believe deeply in the right of debate and compromise. Anyone who views their faith as a justification to roll over the "inalienable rights" that our Creator endowed us with doesn't understand what America is all about.

Once again Schumer gives himself rights that do not exist. I can't find anything in any religious text about the filibuster. I don't think it was top on the Creator's list. Perhaps it was the lost 11th Commandment.

Indeed it was to combat this narrow way of thinking that the patriots put down their plows and picked up their muskets to fight for freedom in the American Revolution.

Yeah, and if that had happened today, you would have referred it to the UN and pushed Sanctions against England. We would have French and Spanish peace keepers in Georgetown. Long live the Commonwealth!

Some of the remarks made by these extreme groups and their allies are dangerous and un-American.

Extreme groups must be in the majority these days.

They've compared independent judges to the Ku Klux Klan.

Perhaps it's the robes.

They've said that the threat posed by judges is more serious than the threat posed by bearded terrorists who fly into buildings.

I'm not completely sure, but I think most of the 911 hijackers were clean shaven. I consider this a slander of bearded men. Lets see if Santa comes to your house this year!

They've invoked Stalin's evil slogan, "no man, no problem" in talking about judges they disagree with.

I agree that this was not the most appropriate quote. A better one would have been a quote by the honorable Marion Barry:

"What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?"

I recognize that the current problems stems from judicial appointments rather than laws. But hey, it seemed appropriate.

If these were just abhorrent statements alone, there would be less to worry about, but the people who have said them are influential people in and out of the government.

I thought they were a small extreme group.

They seek to muzzle independent judges who they do not agree with. They seek to change 200 year old rules in the Senate in the middle of the game, because they are not always getting their way.

They seek to change one rule and its only 199 years old. They are doing it because you have changed a 199 year old precedent.

This morning I am making a heartfelt plea to you, Mr. President. When you came to Washington, you said you wanted to change the climate in D.C., which can be fraught with partisan bickering and politics. I don't believe for a minute that you subscribe to the kinds of views I mentioned above.Those stating these abhorrent views count themselves as your political allies. One word from you will bring to a halt these un-American statements. That would be a way to strengthen democracy — here at home.

This sounds like desperation to me. I think it could be the only nice thing I've heard from a Democrat in regards to Bush in the last five years.

This has been New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. Thanks for listening, and I would like to wish my mom and every mother a happy and healthy Mother's Day!

Stay away from my Mom!

In Sports:
Nats 11, Giants 8

My apologies on leaving out the baseball score lately. The Nats have been on a West Coast trip and usually don't finish up until around 1am est.