Mikey's Ball And Chain

So The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today that Mike Fitzpatrick, Curt Weldon and Jim Gerlach, all running for re-election to the U.S. House of course, are now “cool” to Dubya and his failed policies (most notably the debacle in Iraq).

Glub, glub, guys. You’re tethered to this loser of a President also.

I’ll concentrate this post on Mikey for now, and I may tend to Crazy Curt later (I don’t know enough about Gerlach yet, but I have no doubt that he’s a cookie-cutter clone like the other two).

So let’s begin this recap with a quote from Mikey that appeared in this article where Fitzpatrick defended his decision to take PAC money in the ’04 election where he defeated Ginny Schrader (I gag when I contemplate the hypocrisy of a political party that gleefully accepts campaign donations from “working men and women” while demonizing the opposition party for doing the exact same thing).

“(Fitzpatrick) believes the United States is a safer place since the capture of Saddam Hussein. He said he supports President Bush's doctrine of pre-emption to preserve national security. He said he would support withdrawing American forces from Iraq when it's "practical," adding that he expects the former dictatorship to embrace democracy.

"Elections are scheduled and people are registering to vote. I believe freedom will prevail," he said.

In addition to that quote, the campaign web site for Patrick Murphy has a lengthy list of statements, votes by Fitzpatrick and related commentary that demonstrably proves that, when Dubya tells Mikey to jump, Mikey asks how high, as it were.

This item in particular caught my eye (especially in light of Rummy’s recent ‘appeaser’ remark):

“It's curious that Rep. Fitzpatrick is unwilling to voice his opinion on Bush's decision to stay the course with Secretary Rumsfeld. We asked the congressman and he wouldn't tell us. When pressed to say whether his silence indicated agreement with the president, we were told not to make such an inference. Through a spokesman, Fitzpatrick said he doesn't feel it's his place to offer an opinion, since he didn't hire Rumsfeld and only the president can fire him.”

[Bucks County Courier Times, 6/26/06]

(And speaking of Rummy, the DCCC is pressuring Dubya again and showing a more united front for a change – hat tip to Atrios).

So the answer to the question is no, Mikey; only the most rabid partisan thinks that you are actually “independent,” despite the attempt of some Repug-generated propaganda to try and paint you otherwise.

You “hearted” Dubya all along, and now you’re stuck with him. Deal with it.