The Workday Liberal

So Senator Feingold's motion to censure President Bush is stalled because Democratic leadership is cowered by political consultants and the overwhelming popularity of the president? Is that what the leadership of the Democratic party is reduced to?

Let me give these wimpy Democrats a clue here. 51% of the American people want the President IMPEACHED if he lied about the reasons to go to war with Iraq. And guess what? He did!

The leadership of the Democratic party (with the notable exception of Howard Dean) seems to be populated with spineless sniveling triangulation wanna be's. The lesson from the elections of Bill Clinton was not that mealy mouthed middle of the road cop outs win elections. It was that calling Republicans on the cheap shots and lies during elections, and being able to relate to people wins.

Relating to people right now when it comes to politics means calling the President to account for the error of his ways.

Frankly the issue with Feingold's censure has to do with the President breaking the FISA law. Whether or not it is the politically expedient step to take (which it is) it is the constitutional responsibility of the Congress to oversee the Administration. (To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. ) The Congress has the DUTY of bringing the President to account, and history will judge this Congress to be sadly lacking in the performance of it's constitutional obligation.

The notion posited by Republicans that to take this step while we are fighting the war on terror is simply an attempt to issue a blank check to the administration allowing it to break any law it sees fit to break with no recourse until the war ends. I've heard one estimate recently that the war could go on up to 70 years. I'll guarantee that should a future Congress be dominated by Republicans, and somehow a Democrat find a way to beat diebold elections to gain the White House, that regardless of the state of the war on terror that a Republican Congress will not turn a blind eye to that President should they make a mockery of the constitution.

Indeed with history as our guide it is readily apparent that Republicans are very keen on overseeing Democratic Presidents when they control Congress. The impeachment of Bill Clinton for lying about an extra marital affair was politically unpopular and Clinton's transgression hardly constituted a threat to our fundamental constitutional form of government. Can you imagine the uproar if Bill Clinton had been caught breaking the FISA law, and defiantly announced his intention to keep doing so with this Congress in power?