Congress might as well stop meeting if they won't impeach Bush

What's the point of passing laws if the President can just ignore them with impunity?

If Congress won't impeach Bush for his criminality, they might as well just go home.

As the conservative business magazine Barron's (owned by the Wall Street Journal) said* this week: the issue here isn't about wiretapping. If we were to decide that wiretapping is necessary, we could pass a LAW allowing it.

The issue here is whether the President is allowed to break any law he disagrees with.

So far, it looks like the answer from Congress is YES. So why do they bother to keep passing laws?

I would contact my Congresspeople and ask them this:

Do you support the right of the President to break the law with impunity? If so, do you agree that the laws you pass are mere "recommendations" which people are free to obey or disobey as they please?

That might appeal to their sense of importance and get them moving a bit faster.

=====

* "It is important to be clear that an impeachment case, if it comes to that, would not be about wiretapping, or about a possible Constitutional right not to be wiretapped. It would be about the power of Congress to set wiretapping rules by law, and it is about the obligation of the president to follow the rules in the Acts that he and his predecessors signed into law." -- Unwarranted Executive Power, Barron's Online, Monday 26 Dec 2005

they return. I refuse to sink into pessimism just yet. ;)

.. so law enforcement minions and sometimes Congress can investigate and prosecute those they don't like or agree with... like Democrats or activists or unions.

Sue

...he's a REPUBLICAN.

And THAT is the problem. There was something I saw here on DU earlier: the GOP thought the use of federal money to pay postage for Clinton's CAT's fanclub warranted a fullscale congressional investigation - but bu$hit spying illegally on U.S. citizens only required some 'congressional oversight'?

:wtf:

THERE is the problem. The White House, Congress, and the Senate is DOMINATED by these hypocritical, holier-than-thou, idiots. THEY NEED TO GO and until they do, THEIR president can and will do ANYTHING HE WANTS including outright murdering people in cold blood in the streets if he so chooses and he will be exonerated and excused for it.


Because that's the way REPUBLICANS are. Pretentious HYPOCRISY is the Hallmark of Republicans.

We really should start a top ten list of the reasons bu$h is giving for not following the constitution:

they are complicit in Bushco's crimes, as far as I am concerned.

:shrug:

should be held accountable just the same as Bush (should be - war crimes and all)

"... you're either with us or against us, and we will regard anyone who harbours criminals as guilty as the criminals themselves."

America harbors the Bush Regime - the whole of America would have to stand trial for war crimes in that case....but then, maybe we should at that. If not every individual, then surely America as a whole should be officially labeled, and written up in history as, a war crime nation. Maybe global disgrace would do America the world of good.

Maybe that's what it would take to truly change the conscience of America

... because I think that's the term * used when talking about other nations aiding and abetting known terrorists. I love dragging out the Idiot's own words to use against him.

As for global disgrace doing America a world of good, I agree. The problem is that too many people (the Bush supporters, Faux news watchers) have kept themselves completely ignorant of how the global community now views the United States. Were these people to ever really HEAR what is now being said about our country around the world, they'd never get over the shock. But they prefer to live on in blissful ignorance.

so I could get that global disgrace point in... :)

Shameless...I'm just shameless. :)

I meant it when I said the Bushie supporters would be shocked if they knew the truth. I'm sure there are people out there who actually believe that when Iraqi citizens saw the Abu Ghraib photos, they just brushed it off as a 'few bad apples'. They just don't get it; they don't see (or more likely don't WANT to see) that their country no longer has the moral high ground on ANY international issue -- let alone domestic issues.

I live in Canada, and the difference in public opinion here re the United States has tumbled -- people who used to dream of getting a Green card and living in the States now think you've got to be nuts to want to live there. We are truly perceived now, all of us, as 'Ugly Americans' -- and that's an opinion that will take decades to un-do.

I got into a friendly argument with the wife and a friend the other night. I held that a lot of the people who were suckered into the war on Christmas were people who knew at some level that bad shit is going on in our country of infinitely greater importance than the text of major retailers' holiday signage, but they WANT something to distract them, and they glom onto the first non-issue that their preachers or the GOP put in front of them. Pat Robinson could come out tomorrow and announce that liberals wanted to make bisexuality mandatory for everyone aged twelve and older and millions of these cretins would be putting all new ribbon magnets on their cars to protest the war on heterosexuality, even though they know it's a crock. Certainly there are those who actually believe this crap, but I think there is a decent amount who take it like a white noise machine -- anything to drown out the annoying sound of reality.

the rest of the world an anyone who's bothered to look into your track record would agree wholeheartedly

bit of shock and awe approach to waking them up

he who lives by the sword and all that

They are nothing but reinforcement for the * agenda. It would be funny, if it weren't so dangerous, to see how far they will allow the administration to go. If they allow * to break the law--what WON'T they allow?

It is easier and safer to just agree with everything the administration does. But, they do more than agree, they advocate for * positions and they justify * behavior.

They are supposed to be a check on the presidential power.

They have all betrayed and violated their oaths of office. They're accessories to * atrocities. They all need to rot in prison for life! Every damn one of them!

The question to be posed to all elected officials now is a simple one: Are we a nation of laws, or are we not?

If we are, then take the necessary actions to enforce the law.

If we're not, please let us know so we can all start breaking any laws that don't suit us.

If you'll remember, the Repug talking heads never missed an opportunity to use the phrase (when talking about Dems): "Well, you can't have it both ways."

So that's the issue, clear and simple: "Are we a nation of equality under the law, excepting no citizen regardless of position? Or are some of us 'more' equal under the law than others?"

Come on, people, make up your minds - because you CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!

You're right--their silence DOES equal complicity. Unless they're being blackmailed into silence as a result of Bush NSA spying on them.

The bottom line is, too much of what Bush has done IS impeachable--at least, as compared to lying about a sexual indiscretion.

Nominated.

:headbang:
rocknation

but their action or inaction in the face of what many believe is a constitutional crisis will be most telling. You could be right.

With all the polls coming out that people believe that Bush should be impeached, they will have no choice but to. They need to save their own asses so they can try (and fail) getting elected in 06. I think its going to be a good year, anything has to be better than 2005, this was the worse year in my life, ever since he got elected everything went to shit.

...please fulfill your legal obligations to the country, the Constitution, and to the people, or just go home. Thanks.





K&R for the simple, sad, truth.

"...We, the members of Congress are BUSY!
We are enjoying the banquet served to us
by the multi national corporates- you know, your
blood and taxes...yum! Now leave us alone to
feast upon your scrawny corpses!"
Now Piss Off Citizen,
The Congress

Also, you do remember, they are already breaking the constitutional requirement about meeting on Jan 3rd, as they need to wait and see if Delay can weasel out of his...unpleasantness..

They haven't raised much of a stink about anything else...

Catch a person with a couple of joints on them and it's three years in jail. If fact, in my city one can be put in jail because their dog defecated on a neighbors yard.

I think we not only have the right, but the obligation, to remind Congress (particularly the Republicans in Congress) that THEY lowered the standard for what is an impeachable offense.

The moment that they voted to impeach President Clinton over a consensual sexual affair with another adult, was the moment that they lowered the bar for impeachment.

Now, I happen to think that all of Bush's crimes (starting an illegal war based on lies, spying on domestic citizens without a warrent, etc) very much reach the level of an impeachable offense. In fact, I think they more than reach the level.

But if any member of Congress questions whether they think this reaches the level of impeachment, we need to remind them that they lowered the bar.

this congress and their lack of oversight are just as much at fault as chimpy. they should do their jobs or go home and give us our tax dollars back. the bastards.

they might as well check out too. The dems are just as complicit as the GOP for rubberstamping Bush's criminal acts. Don't forget that Kerry, Dean, and the DLC all said that Bush's spying was OK. OK????? Dude, where's my country?

I can't even count on dems to fight for me.

I wish I could change my screen name.

lets see some spine (why did we elect them?
)

i can't stand her

she came to my daughter's american government class at the local high school and even though the class is moderate to right (and my kid is the only intelligent student in the class--she's a lefty all the way) she was telling me that a week later everyone was talking about judy biggert and what a complete ditz and airhead and jerk she seemed to be.

gasp! the little repubots are turning???
they got a good look--up close and personal

maybe it's not too late for some of the republikids.

That's why they retain their seats so long. It's their first priority and everything else goes by the wayside.

They get fat and happy while "serving" the people, and then it's all about self-preservation.

Congress is nothing more than a prop if it can't stop a branch of government from exercising total disregard for checks and balances and the constitution. The prop's existence is nothing more than to keep a facade that our form of government still exists.

The first page was dedicated to what the Bush Administration's arguments are. It annoyed me when I was reading it because I had asked what his view on the issue was. Got to the second page and there was about a two-line paragraph saying he is waiting to see how things shake out before deciding what is best for his constituents.

What an asshat.

giving all dissenting constituents a bright full moon.