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Monday, August 6, 2007

It's a Start

The Democrats in Congress (not in recess yet, thanks to the Deciderer's actions last Friday) have taken the first step in holding this criminal administration accountable for its lawbreaking and disregard for our Constitution. They are introducing censure resolutions in the House and Senate for George Bush, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales.

Sen. Russ Feingold sponsored two resolutions in his chamber calling for the legislative action against the administration officials because of they misled the country in pursuing war with Iraq and have undermined the rule of law, he said.

"These censure resolutions will let future generations know that Congress stood up to the destructive policies of this administration that have weakened our national security, cost more than 3,600 American lives, and undermined the principles on which our country was founded," Feingold said in a prepared statement.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced companion legislation in the House.

“From misleading this country into invading Iraq to establishing a warrantless domestic spy program, this White House has continuously misled and deceived the American people while disregarding the rule of law that guides our democracy,” Hinchey said in a prepared statement. “The Bush administration has placed an extraordinary burden on this and future generations to recover from the damage done to our Constitution and national security."

Since censure is a purely legislative process and is not specifically mentioned by the Constitution, it seems likely that the majority party would not have any problem passing these motions. A successful impeachment, of course, would require House and Senate majorities, and with the Republics still clinging stubbornly to the splinters of Bush's log raft as it careens down Niagara Falls, it would be impossible to pursue at this point.

But step by step, little by little, the Democrats are pulling this country back from the abyss. Too bad the Republics are too stupid to save themselves from falling in.

2 comments:

Dirk Gently said...

i wish i could be so optimistic, but to me it is just another false start. words, words, words and weak ones at that.

a start would have been defeating the expansion of the illegal spying act. a start would have been pressing criminal charges against the chimp, his organ grinder, and their minions.

impeachment would be a start. because after that was done and the chimp was in a cage where he belongs, there will still be a hell of a lot of clean up to do.

madamab said...

I agree completely. But we don't have the votes to do any of those things. Thus, Congressional Dems have to find sneaky ways to get around the Senate and the Dreaded Veto of Death.

None of these quarter-measures will satisfy those of us who want real change yesterday. But unfortunately, the makeup of Congress forces the Democrats to do things slowly. It's very frustrating, but I try to see each increment as a sign of a pendulum slowly swinging our way.

As Howard Dean said in the keynote speech at YearlyKos, 14 years passed between Rosa Parks' civil disobedience and the passage of the Civil Rights Amendment. It was tough fighting for that change, but the activists of those days got up every day and fought like hell. Some of them even died for their beliefs. So we have to keep our impatience, but also take a longer view...a tough balancing act.