Thursday, January 04, 2007

Democratic House and Senate, Now What?

The WaPo notes that the Left is applying pressure to Democratic leaders and that the House and Senate Dems are being careful with an eye on 2008. Now I'm all for an increase in the minimum wage, ethics bolstering, and security. Fine ideas. I'm all for doing something sensible about winning in 2008 also. But lets take a look at a couple things that seem to be somewhere in the "real damn important" range.

Quite awhile back, King John made himself unpopular enough with the English Lords to have something called the Magna Carta stuffed down his throat and that particular document guaranteed a little thing called Habeas Corpus. The idea was that you couldn't just be stuffed into a dungeon somewhere to rot, you had to be produced for court and trial. Charges had to be brought forward and defended in court. Our king Geo II has decided that it's quaint and needn't be applied when he doesn't think it should. Now I happen to think that such an idea is a step backwards into tyranny and needs to be addressed at the first possible instant.

In the past I've made my feelings on the Patriot Act pretty clear, it's an affront to liberty despite its pretty little name. It would be an act of patriotism to do away with the entire dreadful mess. This confounded thing was enacted in a fear induced frenzy that included not even bothering to read it, when they later had a chance to re-visit, they made it worse.

Some little while back there was a complete stink about the NSA doing warrantless wiretaps of Americans. That stink ran right into an election. Now it seems to have gotten lost.

Torture came up awhile back, BushCo being for it, the entire population of civilized beings against. Just what it says about this country isn't real clear, but Geo II says we don't be we can and nobody has done anything to stop such ideas. John McCain grandstanded and then gave more to BushCo than they'd actually demanded, somehow that worked out odd.

Is the a veto proof sentiment against these abortions of the American way? Probably not, seeing that the Republican herd's moderates got culled. Forcing the White House failure poster child to veto legislation guaranteeing what never should have needed it is only right. Just make sure the Bills have snappy names conjuring up Mom, apple pie, purple plains, ... We've let the elephant thugs set the agenda for twelve years and an election just pointed out that the natives are restless, showing a little nerve is called for.

Yes I'd also like to see the Creep in Charge impeached, I'd like to see his useless play cowboy self led off in shackles for what he's done to American law, not to mention all his lackey cronies.
The problem is that absent some real hard evidence of some real criminal stuff it would be political suicide for '08 and more importantly, bad for the country right now. Some of the incoming freshmen ran on this stuff and some folks like Feingold and Kucinich have never stopped making noise about it, maybe their enthusiasm can over come the calculus of the old-timers. Maybe sending them a note and a check would help keep them warmed up?

1 comment:

Zakariah Johnson said...

Yep, there is some real criminal activity here that needs to be dealt with. Not the run-of-the-mill kind either, like war profiteering and special perks to friends and supporters that is unfortunate but generally expected to some degree. The criminality you cite--suspension of basic rights & whole sections of the Constituion--is of the type that has already changed our nation and has the potential to shift our entire society and system of government forever.

Democrats need to address these issues. Without trying to be too dramatic, restoring the rule of law is a matter of national salvation.