February 22, 2007

If Charles Bakst Would Read Anchor Rising’s Coverage of His Columns, He Might Be Less Frustrated

Carroll Andrew Morse

Projo columnist Charles Bakst is unhappy with Rhode Island’s new junior Senator…

Whether you voted for Republican Lincoln Chafee — a perfectly good antiwar senator — or embraced the arguments for a Democratic Senate and went with Sheldon Whitehouse, you must be furious today.

It’s late February and the Democrats — who promised that with Whitehouse’s election and a Senate majority they’d begin to change the world — can’t even pass a meaningless resolution to denounce President Bush’s troop escalation in Iraq.

I told Whitehouse the other day that I’m angry and frustrated. He said I “absolutely” had the right to be.

Actually, as someone who pays very close attention to politics, Bakst has little excuse to be frustrated with Senator Whitehouse. Candidate Whitehouse dramatically altered his position on Iraq during the course of the 2006 Senate campaign. It was not reasonable to expect that a candidate who couldn’t hold a coherent position would become a Senator who would take direct, meaningful actions.