The Workday Liberal

President Bush has announced an agenda he would like to set for the lame duck session of this Congress. Among the items he would like passed are having John Bolton confirmed for U.N. ambassador and a law making the NSA spy program legal retroactively.

Democrats must stand now and stop these two initiatives in particular. Frankly if the President has any sincerity in his recent calls for bipartisanship, he will not ask the lame duck congress to consider these controversial issues. It appears that Lincoln Chaffee is on board with the need to stop Bolton in particular. If the President actually puts these issues over to the lame duck Congress we can expect a long two years. Anyone who looks at this knows these issues in particular are highly divisive and partisan in nature.

Allowing these initiatives to go forward without a knockdown dragout fight will send the signal that Democrats in Congress will roll over when faced with controversy. If the President really wants to pick this fight that sends confrontational signal loud and clear. If the Democrats do or don't stand up and fight this that also sends an unmistakable signal as well. Democrats in Congress can allow this President to run roughshod over them when he chooses to, or they can stand up starting with this session going forward. I suggest if Bush picks this fight, Democrats do not lay down.