The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 328, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Page: 4 of 10
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4 The Baytown Sun l O ^ O l ^ S_April 5, 2011
Keeping the fight alive
“Wc can't leav e our troops on
the beach.”
Mario I'antano. a former
sniper sat in my office, rolling
his shirtsleeve back down alter
showing me the United States
Marine C orps tattoo on his arm.
lie wasn't showing off: Me was
making a point. "If my country is
worth d\ing for. it's worth fight-
mg for " Which is what brought
hint to Washington.
lie's put his life otv the line in
the Marines, and now the North
Carolina resident is iri the
embryonic stages of Ins second
run tor Congress l ast year, lie
fared reasonably well in a district
that's been voting Democrat
since the Reconstruction.■ file
problems that called him to duty
on the campaign trai I have not
gone away, and the people who
had faith in him still deserve an
alternative to their current repre-
sentation. So I’antano feels like
he owes them a second try. And
with his national-security and
economics experience available
during acruicaltime in ourhisio
ry, lie owes his
country another
effort, too
The tea-party
movement, the
conservative
Constituents of
mm .....-4H his district who
KATHRYN engaged and
LOPEZ have, in many
cases. stayed
engaged, are the troops I’antano
was referring to: the folks he
refuses to leave stranded
But there are also troops in
Washington D C . and they need
not only support on the home
front. butrein forcemeats asw ell.
I’antano represents'the rein-
forcements Because the guys
vv lio want to change the .way
Washington works, to put the
federal gov eminent on a life-
saving diet: to get government
regulation out of the W ay of the
American family; to protect the
consciences ot Americans' who
don 't want their money going
near abortions . they need more
votes in Washington
"I think there was a bit of a
grace period granted the GOP
leaders in I).C. But patience is
wearing thin." Teri Christoph,
eo-founder of Smart Girl
Polities, a cyber-tea-party huh.
tells me. "Wc are looking for
accountability from our leaders,
regardless of party, and if we
don't get it. w e'll make our voic-
es heard. All it takes is inac-
tion in Washington and we'll he
seeing a marked uptick in con-
servative activism."
That impatience manifested
itself during a “Continuing
Revolution" rally held on
Capitol Mill on the last day of
March. But. that impatience, too.
can be heard in the voice of the
Speaker ut the Mouse: W hen you
insist the Senate "pass the damn
thing" fund the federal gov-
ernment in a responsible manner
you don't exactly sound like a
Washington Brahmin hobnob-
bing at the country eluh.
Baby boomers, my genera*,
non. we've created a pretty big •
mess. We've made promises to
ourselves that our kids and
grandkids simply cannot afford.
To most politicians, it’s easier
just to keep kicking the can
down the road or create some
toothless commission. If those in
charge won’t step up and offer
the serious solutions to fix enti-
tlement programs, we need lead-
ers who will."
That w as John Boehner speak-
ing more than a year ago now
Me also said, in the same speech
to the Conservative Political
Action Committee. "I can tell
you that a Republican Congress
is not going to change the world
in two years.; Wc won't. We
can’t. But we can stop the
Pelosi-Obama agenda and we
can do it quickly. And what we
can do is to continue to offer bet-
ter solutions to the American
people to get our country hack
on track once again."
Expectations are high. That’s a
wonderful blessing. It keeps us
working harder and wanting
more. But. as frustrating as it is.
even as we want as much change
as we can get immediately, there
are certain realities to
Washington. The Speaker of the
House cannot unilaterally make
the will of the House law. He
needs more votes in Washington.
He needs a willing Senate,
knowing the current president
isn’t going to play ball. That’s
not to make excuses or open a
path for complacency — it’s a
call to action.
At the same time as the
“Continuing Revolution" rally,
at least one congressman was on
his knees in prayer at a Capitol
Hill church. Pro-life activists
were continuing their Lenten 40
Days for Life campaign. Praying
for courage and prudence and
sustenance is not a partisan
prayer, but it's a necessary one in
the face of the mess that ’s so dis-
tressed Boehner and his fellow
warriors. Our hearts will be rest-
less. They should be. They will
keep us working harder and
inspire us to be better and braver.
Kathryn Lope: is the editor oj
National Review Online:
Have you
registered
to vote?
Yes ' (mod
No'.’ Read below
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In vote in Ievas. you must be registered Simply
pi. k up a votei registration application at your voter
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:lv>, April 14 in outer to vole in the Mav election,
GO ONLINE
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the votei registrar iti void county ot residence
CHAMBERS COUNTY
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Mai Me t I It’in v
1*0 Bov 5.19 \nahuac
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14(101 2h7-K.’m!
HARRIS COUNTY
: lax Assessur-t olleetoi
; Don Suntileis
I’D Box JS27
lliiusum 77253-35217
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RAMMIM6
SPEEP!
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^EAtanic
TODAY IN HISTORY
. Imla, is the osi|| tlav oi the
year I here aie JI * * * * * 70 ilay s remain-
ing until the end of the year;.
In 1792.1 S President (leorge
Washington evereises his anthori
i v to v eto a hill, the first trine this
power is used in the United
States....
In 1923, I irestotie Tire and
Rubber ( ompany begins produc-
tion ol balloon-tires
In 1956. lidel ( astro declares
himself at war with the President
of Cuba ;
In 1969. Vietnam War: Massive
animat demonstrations occur in
many U S cities.
In 1992. t(ie Siege of Sarajevo
begins when Serb paramilitaries
murder two peace protesters on
the \ rbania Bridge
In 1998. in Japan, the Akashi-
Kaikyd Bridge opens to traffic,
becoming the largest suspension
bridge in tnc world
In 1999. two Libyans suspected
of bringing down Pan Am flight
103 in 1988 are handed over for
eventual trial in the Netherlands.
In 2009. North Korea launches
its controversial rocket. The satel-
lite passed over mainland Japan,
which prompted an immediate
reaction from the United Nations
Security Council.
()bama’s realistic strategy in Libya
I luve things President < lhama
didn't tlo . ill Ills speech to die
nation on I ibya: He didn’t pre-
dict the future; he didn't put
Mommai (iaddati on a ‘'Wanted:
Dead or Alive" poster, and he
didn't pronounce an "<Jbama
Doctrine. lor reilceiniitg a lallen
world through bombing.
. lo anybiKiy Who'S'feen pay ing
attention over the past 10 years,
these were u isc and necessary
omissions lo be blunt. Wc went
down that: road in Iraq." <lhama
said "Regime change there look
eight years, thousands of
American and Iraqi liees. and
nearly SI trillion. That is not
something we can afford lo
repeat in Libya."
No. it's certainly not lo he
even blunter. Libya: itself is not
worth it the icason I S. pres-
idents hack to Nixon have toler-
ated the murdering SOB. Leftists
condemning NATO’s “colonial-
ist" attempt to seize Libyan oil-
fieldsmight ask
themselves why.
if that's the
motive, it took
so long. The
country’s oil-
fields Were
na tiona I i/ed
decades ago. No
i ma gin ah Ie
Libyan govern-
ment w ould sur-
render ownership to British and
Italian corporations currently
operating them at great profit.
We had our fill of predictions in
Iraq Never mind the nonexistent
weapons of mass destruction.
Remember being told that grate-
ful Iraqis would strew flowers in
our path? Remember Bush
administration officials insisting
that the war would pay for itself.’
Remember, for that matter, that
murdering SOB Saddam Hussein
dragged from his hole like a rabid
animal, as guerilla war against
U S invaders went on unabated'.’
Critics demanding firm predic-
tions and exaei timetables are
only try ing to set Obama up for
political failure Seeing Sen
John McCain on CNN announc-
ing that "Gaddafi must have been
somewhat comforted" by the
president's failure to guarantee
regime change was another
reminder of how lucky we are
that he never became president.
"If we end up in a situation
where Gaddafi is able to cling to
power," McCain said, "then we
could easily see a re-enactment of
the first Gulf War: stalemate, a
no-fly /one that lasted for 10
years that didn’t bring Saddam
Hussein out of power" Quite as if
the first President Bush's refusal
to tear apart the international
coalition that ejected Iraq's army
front Kuwait by marching on
Baghdad hadn't been vindicated
by his son's grandiose folly.
Does McCain really want the
United States engaged in a third
ground war in an Islamic coun-
try? Absent sending in the
Marines, Obama can’t guarantee
Gaddafi's demise, regardless of
how badly we’d all love to see it.
’Ditto for Sarah Palin and other
TV talking heads determined to per-
sonalize the conflict as a Sliixitout at
Tripoli Corral. “If we’re not going to
oust (Gaddafi) by killing or captur-
ing hint, there is no acceptable end
state,” Palin allowed.
This was basically the line
peddled by pundits who compete
for TV ratings by turning news
into melodrama. Anything more
nuaneed. it’s feared, will confuse
viewers accustomed to seeing
world events in terms of
action adventure films.
Libya is what we scholars of
international relations call a very
small country. Virtually all of its
population lives within a few
miles of the Mediterranean Sea,
essentially a European lake.
Easy-in, easy-out.
Iran, conversely, has 10 times
Libya’s population; it’s geograph-
ically remote, with forbidding ter-
rain. Strategically, it’s both less
immediate and an order of magni-
tude more challenging than Libya
CNN needs to get real.
for the United States.- historic
sponsor and enabler of that terror,
to play a humanitarian role in end-
ing it has the potential to change
how Arabs see us confounding
extremists in their midst.
But yes. there ’s a risk of politi-
cal, if not military, failure. And
there's certainly a risk the
American people won’t accept a
prolonged conflict for such limit-
ed goals. Obama could be gam-
bling his presidency on the out-
come. He’s evidently come to
believe that preventing the
slaughter is worth it.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
columnist Gene Lyons can he
reached at
eugenelyons2@yahoo.com.
GENE
LYONS
Barack Obama.
President
202-456tttl
Fax; 202-456-3461
president@
,\t«ehoiise.gcv
JoeBiden,
to: President
202 456-2324
Fax; 202-4562461
vmpresidentf)
ixtitehasegw .
Kay Bailey Hutchison,
Senator
202 224 5922
7136633456
Fax; 202 224-0776
Fax: 713-209 3468
hurehsonsenate.
gcxybrnalfitro
JohnCorrtyn
Senator
202-224-2934
713-572-3337
fax: 2022262856
Fax; 713-572-3777
ooryiscnate.
gaftxrtact/
indexJTtml
STATE
RtckBeny Governor Ron Paul. CM. w Rep.
800-843-5789 202-226283)
806252-9600 979-2860231
■ Fax: 512-463B49 wwwhouse. gorpad
led Floe, Da 2 Rep.
8664266566
866447-0242
wwwhouse. gowpoe
Gene Green, Da 29
Rep.
202226688
713-3300761
281-4200502
wwwhouse gwgreen
HOW TO REACH US
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janie.gray@teytownsun.com
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Managing Editor
carla.torres@baytownsun.com
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joshua.hart@teytownsun.com
MWSKOOM
sunnews@baytownsun.cdm
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W.">0-1974
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Gray, Janie. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 328, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 5, 2011, newspaper, April 5, 2011; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1027968/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.