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August 9, 2007 7:05 AM
Fighting our courage deficit.
Why don't they fight?
Last week, Democrats in the House and Senate bowed to presidential bullying and passed a law that gives the Bush administration legal cover for its ongoing campaign to take away our constitutional rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
The specific battle was about legalizing NSA spying on Americans without warrant or court order (Want to go deeper: We wrote about it here when there was still time to stop it. More good info from our partner, the ACLU. An excellent analysis on the failure to organize from our friends at OpenLeft. And Sirota on a strategy to defund the program) .
But the larger war is about whether the checks and balances guaranteed by our constitution (Remember when we learned in school about the judiciary, the legislative and executive branches of government?) will survive the Bush presidency.
This is a battle we're losing, despite democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
Kos has posted a list of democrats who voted voted for this bill under the headline "Cowards." My senator, Dianne Feinstein, is on the list. I called her office to express my profound disappointment in her failure to stand up for me as a citizen and contituent and her inexplicable refusal to carry out her sworn duty to uphold the constitution.
What about you? Is your representative on the list? Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected. And don't forget, if you're a Working Assets Wireless member, we'll even pay for the call.
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Discussion
And if they'd have voted it down, then Bush would blame the next attack (facts aside, of course), on the Democrats' lack of resolve resulting in x-number of American lives lost.
As Hermann Goering said, "All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
Then we'd have a government completely dominated by Republicans.
that's why they caved, it's true. but i don't buy the fact that liberals are doomed to lose elections if they continue to retreat every time bush plays the terrorism card.
i'm reading an interesting book right now called The Political Brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation.
the author makes the argument that people vote for largely emotional, not rational reasons.
liberals who buck the president can run on a platform of character, rather than a recitation of policy positions.
but as this vote proves, character (and courage) is in dangerously short supply.
We have Demo-rats aboard the ship of state..!
Why don't they continually ask why Bush gave al-Qaeda a truce and let them escape at Tora Bora..?
What losers..
They aren't cowards, they are bought off. They are caving to K-street and the big campaign funding that those corporate minions are waving under their collective noses.
We need to campaign against these Republi-lites, and contribute directly to and work for populist candidates. No money to the national party, they'll just give it to the Republi-lites.
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