The Oil Man Cometh

What is it about the US Congress? In spite of abysmally low ratings by the American People, they insist on an expansion of their role into areas where other parts of the government have prime responsibility.

Most recently, a press release from our own Bill Delahunt’s office announced that he is co-sponsoring House Resolution, H.J. Res. 53 which would modify the 1973 War Powers Resolution to provide for increased congressional approval for military action. Do we really need to have an additional 535 Commander-in-Chiefs?

Constitutional law is a murky subject and probably best left to experts, but it seems to me that some responsibilities are fairly clear, especially those vested in the Executive Branch. In addition to military leadership, the President also has full responsibility for our diplomatic efforts through the State Department. Why then would House Speaker Pelosi think it was a good idea to lead a congressional delegation to Syria? Her amateurish efforts, in April of this year, at "helping" the mid-east peace process ended up in muddled confusion and acted to undermine American diplomatic strategies.

Similarly, Bill Delahunt’s efforts at cultivating Venezuela strong man, Hugo Chavez have served to blunt the effectiveness of the Administration’s foreign policy. Having secured a supply of under-priced oil from Chavez to be distributed to low-income American citizens is, on-the-surface, a positive move. The specter of poor American’s shivering through a cold winter is sobering to be sure. At the same time, however, it is important to look behind the curtain at the source of this largess. The oil discount that Chavez is providing is being funded by a country with widespread poverty, much worse than anything in the Massachusetts Tenth Congressional District. Moreover, one does not have to be a diplomat to recognize that this gesture by Chavez is a blatant attempt to buy off American critics. If providing low-cost oil to Americans is a priority, then perhaps the Congress should develop a program that does not depend on the largess of a political thug.

Speaking at the United Nations in September, 2006, Chavez, in his abrasive manner, referred to President Bush as the devil, a widely held symbol of unmitigated evil, “Yesterday, the devil came here—right here, right here—and it still smells of sulfur today.” Where was the outrage that a head of state could come to our shores and insult our president? We certainly can debate the issues and we, as a country, are stronger for our consideration of differing opinions. But what kind of message are we sending to the world that we would tolerate this gibberish. In fairness to Delahunt, he did label Chavez’s comments, “silly” and “inappropriate.” I guess that told him.

Undeterred on the diplomatic front, Delahunt helped lead a congressional delegation to Cuba the very next month. Again, in contrast with the Bush administrations efforts at eliciting change in this Communist country, located 90 miles off our shores, Delahunt and his group proposed alleviation of the long-standing trade and travel sanctions against Cuba, which the American Government has used as a lever for social and political changes on the island. It’s not clear what Mr. Delahunt finds so inviting in these repressive regimes.

In the meantime, while congress is playing at diplomacy and defense management, a recent Gallup Poll shows that in response to the question: “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?” 69% of the respondents answered no. Go figure.