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Don’t get caught flat-footed in front of the press! Below is a quick rundown of today’s “must reads.” – John T. Doolittle, House Republican Conference Secretary
The Morning Murmur - Thursday, March 07, 2006
1. Dangerous Stalemate in Iraq - Wall Street Journal
There are two crises in Iraq. One is the obvious crisis of sectarian
violence, the other the less obvious one of government formation.
2. Recruiting Success for Guardsmen - Washington Times Op-ed
The Army National Guard is now signing new recruits in record numbers. On
Friday, the Guard announced 6,583 new recruits in February, which brings the
five-month total to 26,000 -- the Guard's best numbers in 13 years.
3. Feisty Dem Appears to Help W's Cause - New York Daily News
President Bush tried to steady his presidency yesterday by urging Americans
to support the Iraq war for the long haul, but a bigger boost for a limping
White House may have come from a rogue Democrat.
4. Prices U.S. Pays Hospitals, Doctors to be Publicized - Wall Street Journal
The Bush administration is expected today to announce plans to publicize the
prices the government's health programs pay hospitals and physicians for
common medical procedures. The effort is part of a Bush-administration push
to inject more free-market principles into health care, in the hope that
consumers will help rein in costs if they are armed with better information.
5. Primary Concerns: Dems Load, Point at Foot - Union Leader
In the latest effort to make themselves totally unelectable, national
Democrats have taken another step toward having their Presidential candidate
selected by voters who have never looked him in the eye, never shaken his
hand, and never been exposed to more than a television soundbite of his
thinking.
For previous issues of the Morning Murmur, go to
www.GOPsecretary.gov
FULL ARTICLES BELOW:
1. Dangerous Stalemate in Iraq - Wall Street Journal
By DONALD L. HOROWITZ
March 14, 2006; Page A18
There are two crises in Iraq. One is the obvious crisis of sectarian
violence, the other the less obvious one of government formation. The two
are related. The elections in December produced a more or less predictable
result -- four major blocs of seats. Shiite parties in the United Iraqi
Alliance (UIA) received 128 seats out of 275, short of a majority to form a
government. The principal Kurdish list came in second with 53; the main
Sunni parties gained 44 and the intersectarian list of Ayad Allawi won only
25. Together the Shiite UIA and the Kurds would easily have a secure
majority; and if they accommodated Sunni demands for constitutional changes,
Sunni parties could join a government that spanned the major cleavages and
undercut the insurgency.
Something peculiar happened on the way to such a happy outcome. The Shiites
and Kurds, who had so completely dominated politics and constitution-making
in post-invasion Iraq, fell out. By an intraparty majority of one vote, the
Shiites chose as their candidate for prime minister the sitting occupant of
that office, Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- the one man Kurdish president Jalal
Talabani could not abide. For their part, the Kurds, who had profited
handsomely from their close relationship with the Shiites, turned their back
on that relationship and demanded a national unity government, including not
only the Sunnis but Mr. Allawi's secular party, too. Moreover, they demanded
that the interior and defense ministries, implicated in sectarian violence,
be assigned to neutral figures and that a new "national security council" be
created to check in some unspecified way the formal institutions created by
the constitution. The Kurds and all their allies have 136 seats, short of a
majority, just as the Shiites are. And so there is stalemate.
That stalemate feeds the insurgency, not only by freeing up politically
affiliated militias to attack their sectarian enemies, but by creating an
interregnum whose uncertainty is an ideal environment for intergroup
violence. Reciprocally, the violence creates bitterness that makes it harder
for political leaders to span the chasm that divides them. For the moment,
even the deep disenchantment of Sunni leaders with the constitution has been
shelved as the raw struggle over who will control Iraq takes center stage.
Why the Kurds defected from an alliance that had served them so well is a
mystery. After all, the constitution they crafted with the Shiites suits
their interest in going their own way with a Kurdish region in the north.
What is very clear is that the alignment of nearly all Shiites on one side
and nearly everyone else on the other is exceedingly unhealthy. The Shiites
are a majority in a country long deprived of majoritarian institutions.
Majorities want majority rule; a majority that sees itself as cheated of its
rightful place in government is a dangerous organism.
Consider a single, obscure but important instance: the Punjab election of
1946 in British India. The Punjab was then divided among a Muslim majority,
a Hindu minority and a Sikh minority. The Muslim League was overwhelmingly
favored by Muslims but fell just short of a majority. A small Muslim
splinter party joined Hindu and Sikh politicians, enabling them to form a
government and cheating the vast majority of Muslims out of a government
they saw as rightfully theirs. The result: horrendous violence that opened
the door to the partition of India, with a death toll in the hundreds of
thousands. There are examples of the phenomenon in other countries where
majorities are shut out.
The same could easily happen in Iraq if an anti-UIA alignment secures enough
seats to form a government. Some think a civil war is already under way, but
an inclusive government stands at least some chance of averting the worst.
It will not be easy to negotiate such a government. A coalition would be
easier to form if the UIA abandoned its insistence on Mr. Jaafari as its
prime ministerial choice and thought seriously about the negative effects of
biased interior and defense ministries. Many informed Iraqis think Mr.
Jaafari has been ineffective.
The UIA could also rethink its insistence on a less-than-fully inclusive
government. It is true that ministerial positions and other perquisites of
governing normally go to the best electoral performers. But these are not
normal times in which a winner-take-all mentality should prevail: It is
imperative that everyone who can dampen the violence find a place in
government. That will also mean Shiite compromises on the constitution so
disliked by Sunni, even if those negotiations take place over a more
extended period than the four months contemplated for amendments to the
current constitutional deal.
On the Kurdish-Sunni-secular side, it needs to be recognized that denying
the Shiites plurality of a first-among-equals position in government is a
very bad idea. It is not only of dubious democratic legitimacy: More
importantly, an anti-UIA coalition risks explosive violence that will put
Iraq on the road to disaster -- to years of strife, or secession and
territorial partition, or even to internationalized Sunni-Shiite warfare
that can embroil the whole region. Responsible people on both sides of this
new divide have to step back from their maximum demands, lest pursuing them
place every party and group in dire jeopardy. Likewise, if the U.S.
entertains any notion that supporting an anti-UIA coalition provides a
convenient way to exclude Iranian influence from Iraq, attractive though
that notion may be, the costs of indulging such an idea will be far too high
to contemplate.
Finally, thought should be given to the proportional representation (PR)
electoral system that, in combination with the Kurdish defection, produced
the impasse. List-system PR is the preferred electoral system of many
international advisers helping in the creation of transitional institutions.
In Iraq's first elections, it might have been hard, though not impossible,
to choose another system; and other systems might also have produced
inconclusive results in the recent elections. But some systems would have
offered a chance of a more definitive electoral outcome, and might have been
preferred. A protracted interregnum in which armed gangs go about their gory
business while statesmanship is in hiding should not be anyone's idea of a
reasonable transition to democracy.
Mr. Horowitz, professor of law and political science at Duke, is author of
"The Deadly Ethnic Riot" (University of California, 2001).
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114230051555097275.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep
2.
Recruiting Success for Guardsmen - Washington Times Op-ed
Published March 14, 2006
After three years of troubling recruiting shortfalls, the Army National
Guard is now signing new recruits in record numbers. On Friday, the
Guard announced 6,583 new recruits in February, which brings the
five-month total to 26,000 -- the Guard's best numbers in 13 years.
Fewer Iraq deployments are clearly one reason for the good news, as are
a near-doubling of the recruiting force and a doubling of signing
bonuses for people new to the military. But the Guard engineered much of
this turnaround with an innovative program whose core features should be
studied and widely emulated across the government, especially by people
who want to "transform" the workforce.
The idea behind the Guard's "Recruiting Assistance Program" is borrowed
from corporate America: Current employees make the best ambassadors --
especially when they're rewarded financially. The program has deputized
31,000 current Guardsmen as "recruiting assistants" -- that's nearly 10
percent of the entire force -- and it rewards them with $2,000 for each
referred enlistee who reaches basic training or completes four months of
service. Bonus referral programs have been around since the 1960s in the
private sector, but they are rare in government. Here's an example why
they shouldn't be.
It is far too early for any definitive study of the program, but
anecdotally most of the recruits appear to be coworkers and family
members of current Guardsmen. News accounts quote Guardsmen pointing to
the financial incentives as they discuss the options with neighbors,
friends and others they otherwise might not approach.
The program is currently operating in only 22 states, so further gains
are likely as it expands. "The goal here is to get as many Americans as
possible helping to recruit the Army," Lt. Col. Mike Jones, a top Guard
recruiter, told the Army Times in January.
Other ideas borrowed from corporate America have met considerable
resistance in the Pentagon. Notable is Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's promising merit-based "pay banding" system, the virtues of
which we've extolled on this page previously. It would radically alter
the way Pentagon civilians are hired, paid and promoted in ways that
emphasize accomplishment and de-emphasize seniority. It's clear enough
that sclerotic unions fear those changes. They will do everything in
their power to stymie them.
Referral bonuses should be a different story. Everyone should support
this common-sense idea. In the National Guard's case, the program is at
least partially responsible for a major turnaround in recruiting in what
until recently was a highly problematic situation. The rest of the
military should watch carefully as the story unfolds.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060313-094412-6899r.htm
3.
Feisty Dem Appears to Help W's Cause - New York Daily News
BY MICHAEL McAULIFF and KENNETH R. BAZINET
WASHINGTON - President Bush tried to steady his presidency yesterday by
urging Americans to support the Iraq war for the long haul, but a bigger
boost for a limping White House may have come from a rogue Democrat.
As promised, Bush launched another political offensive aimed at
resurrecting his slumping agenda and rebuilding support for an
increasingly unpopular war.
The four-week strategy, which he previously tried with some temporary
success in December, began with a speech aimed at linking the war on
terrorism to Iraq - this time without Bush uttering unfounded optimism.
"I wish I could tell you that the violence is waning and that the road
ahead will be smooth," Bush admitted. "It will not. There will be more
tough fighting and more days of struggle, and we will see more images of
chaos and carnage in the days and months to come."
Bush's job approval rating dropped for a fourth straight week in the
CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll, sinking to 36% support.
With those numbers, Bush's tactic might have been seen as an act of
desperation, but Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) pulled the political stunt
of the day by asking the Senate to censure Bush over the National
Security Agency's domestic spying.
After Feingold made his pitch on the Senate floor, Senate GOP leader
Bill Frist of Tennessee called his bluff and urged a vote.
Fearing a backlash, Democrats instantly blocked the vote, worried they
would give back political gains made from Bush's recent blunder on the
Dubai ports deal. They later tried to say they didn't abandon Feingold.
"What you are seeing is Democrats of every stripe coming forward to
point out the dangerous incompetence of the Bush administration's
policies," said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for the Senate Democratic
war room.
Republicans were tickled by Feingold's maneuver. "If he wants to change
the subject to this, we'd be happy to talk about it," said a senior Bush
official.
Another top Bush aide who had predicted Democrats would do something to
take the heat off Bush was gleeful over Feingold's move. "The saving
grace for us is just how inept they are," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/399472p-338462c.html
4.
Prices U.S. Pays Hospitals, Doctors to be Publicized - Wall Street Journal
By SARAH LUECK
March 14, 2006; Page D4
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, in a bid to make health-care costs
more transparent, is expected today to announce plans to publicize the
prices the government's health programs pay hospitals and physicians for
common medical procedures.
In the next few weeks, Medicare will post on its Web site the amounts it
pays to cover certain procedures, said Mark McClellan, the head of the
agency that runs the federal program for the elderly and disabled. Then, the
government will make more data available in several high-cost metropolitan
areas, gleaning information from Medicare and other government programs as
well as from private-sector employers and insurers.
The effort is part of a Bush-administration push to inject more free-market
principles into health care, in the hope that consumers will help rein in
costs if they are armed with better information. The idea is that people
will make wiser decisions about which providers to choose, and may even
wrangle for lower charges if their own money is on the line.
In addition to price information, quality information also will be
available.
"People deserve to know, they have a right to know the quality of the care
they receive and its cost," said Health and Human Services Secretary Michael
Leavitt.
He declined to specify which cities might be the initial focus of the
pricing initiative, which will roll out in the coming months. He said the
locations would have higher than average health costs and employers and
private insurers willing to participate.
The price information will be tied to specific hospitals and physicians, Mr.
Leavitt said -- a fact that undoubtedly will make many providers nervous.
The data will come from claims data held by Medicare and Medicaid, as well
as the programs that provide health care to federal employees and the
military.
Hospitals have raised concerns that charges have little use to most people.
Patients with insurance, for example, pay rates negotiated by insurance
companies. Plus, the costs encompass more than just a procedure. Dr.
McClellan said the government is working on providing prices of associated
care, such as rehabilitation, in addition to procedures.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114230937938997488.html?mod=politics_primary_hs
5.
Primary Concerns: Dems Load, Point at Foot - Union Leader
In the latest effort to make themselves totally
unelectable, national Democrats have taken another step toward having
their Presidential candidate selected by voters who have never looked
him in the eye, never shaken his hand, and never been exposed to more
than a television soundbite of his thinking.
Maybe the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee,
which voted on Saturday to go forward with a plan to surround the New
Hampshire primary with several additional primaries and caucuses,
eviscerating New Hampshire's influence, is filled with Republican
plants.
Or, alas, maybe the Democrats really are that out of touch.
If the Democrats go through with this cockamamie plan, consider how the
different parties' candidates will be vetted in 2008.
The GOP candidates will first be tested in the trenches of Iowa and New
Hampshire, where they will have to meet and answer questions directly
from voters. They will have to spend months honing their messages in
country stores, mom and pop restaurants, and town halls - not just in
front of, but surrounded by randomly assembled (not hand-picked) groups
of flesh-and-blood American voters.
The Democrats, by contrast, will fly in chartered planes from state to
state to state and have themselves shuttled so rapidly between so many
television stations, radio stations and newspaper offices that they will
hardly have time to stop for a bite to eat, much less mingle with the
rabble. They will have to cover six or seven states in as many days. The
voters can forget about meaningfully interacting with the candidates;
they will be lucky to catch a glimpse of them.
The last thing the Democratic Party needs is to further insulate itself
from the American public, which is exactly what this new plan does. It's
as if the Democratic Party is trying to commit political suicide. But
then, that's what it seems best at doing.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Primary+concerns:+Dems+load,+point+at+foot&articleId=083f2bae-f9df-4274-922e-ba9466becd1b
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