Censure in a nutshell
Skinner @ DU has mixed feelings on Feingold's censure resolution. I think s/he cpatures the problem well:
Maybe there is something self-defeating in expressing reservations. But I think this is about right, and I'm just not the Kool Aid type.
In short, I think censure is far too lenient. But I can't help worrying that this will be an empty "accountability moment," and that this one step forward will result in moving us three steps back.
Senator Feingold deserves a lot of credit for taking concrete action to hold the president accountable. At the very least, he has put the issue of Bush's lawbreaking back on the front pages. But more importantly, he is doing what any right-thinking American officeholder (or citizen) should do. I don't care if you're liberal or conservative or whatever: if you believe in the rule of law, if you believe in protecting the rights of the individual against the state, if you support the Constitution of the United States, and if you are alarmed by the application of unchecked executive power then you should support holding the president accountable.
And therein lies the problem. They're not supporting it.
I support Senator Feingold's censure resolution. But I have mixed feelings about it because right now it appears poised to fail. And when I say "fail" I don't mean "lose on a party-line vote" -- The resolution is poised to fail in a spectacular and public way, with a substantial number of elected Democrats too afraid to take even a small stand in favor of what is right.
If this thing loses with a large number of Democrats defecting, then Bush's supporters are going to paint this as a victory for Bush -- and not only that. They are going to claim that this vindicates his warrantless domestic spying program. They are going to claim that this is "proof" that the program is lawful, and has the support of Congress. And that would not be so great.
Maybe there is something self-defeating in expressing reservations. But I think this is about right, and I'm just not the Kool Aid type.
In short, I think censure is far too lenient. But I can't help worrying that this will be an empty "accountability moment," and that this one step forward will result in moving us three steps back.
posted by bluememe at 3/14/2006
4 Comments:
Don't forget the other barrel of this shotgun - There's a story up on Alternet about Impeachment reaching the mainstream and gaining mementum.
http://www.alternet.org/story/33373/
Something tells me we need one more thing - maybe some synergy with the Fitzgerald investigation.
I've got a big glass of Kool-Aid, I know, but I'm just taking little sips through a straw.
I believe the public is there. It's the damned pseudo-Democratic politicians who are screwing things up. I think it is the most extreme case of mass-Stockholm Syndrome in history.
I think you need to stop looking toward the democrats for hope, blue. We need a better option.
Maybe we need to look to Republicans for hope - I mean true Republicans. My wife has a co-worker who is a life-long Republican. He shared with us a letter he wrote to his representatives in Florida that I agree with point for point. He stated the issues that are important to him as a Republican - the Iraq War and how much it is costing in lives and dollars, Republican corruption, Domestic Spying, and he even brought up the Terri Schiavo case and how wrong it was to intervene and make it an issue.
Unfortunately, I think that the neo-Cons in power care as much about Republicans who disagree with them as they carte about Democrats or anyone else who disagrees with them. But in the long run, it will bite them.
Black Box Voting can only help them steal elections if it's close. It's one thing for Democrats to cry foul, but just wait until Republicans start asking each other, "I didn't vote for him,Did you vote for him?"
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