Labels: 2008 Election, Al Gore, George W. Bush, operation lockbox

Here's an oldie dressed up in some new digs...

Labels: Video

Last week ten (TEN!) candidates for the Republican 2008 presidential nomination gathered to introduce themselves to the American people. It was damn ugly.

A lot of attention has been paid to the who does not believe in evolution question, and rightfully so (it's not a litmus test of faith, it's a litmus test of the capacity for rational thought), but the questions I most wanted answered were never asked.

As a former New England Republican myself I view GOP debates through a lens of fiscal conservatism mixed with a tinge of libertarian sensibility. I would have liked to have heard the candidates views on the difficult questions which threaten the very fabric of our nation today. Specifically their stances on habeas corpus, posse comitatus, and the Cheneyite School of the Unitary Executive. While the candidates did comment on abortion, tax policy, stem cell research, and the possibility of a national identity card - for immigrants and guest workers - they were not asked for their thoughts on signing statements, warrantless wiretaps, extraordinary rendition, or the use of private contractors to perform military duties.

The answers to these questions are vitally important for candidates from both parties to answer, but particularly so for Republicans. Since 2000 the Bush Administration has consistently reinterpreted the Constitution of the United States in such a way that diminishes individual liberties and circumvents traditional checks on tyranny while maximizing its own authority. These are not soundbite issues. These are fundamental questions that will define American character for generations to come.

Labels: 2008 Election, Extraordinary Rendition, GOP, Unitary Executive, warrantless wiretaps

Yesterday, President Bush used the veto for only the second time since he took office to send the Iraq war spending bill back to Congress. His rational was that the bill - laden with domestic pork - fundamentally infringed upon his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief by legislating war strategy. I agree completely.

Congress has no constitutional authority to tell the President how a war should be prosecuted. Congress chooses whether or not to declare a war, and Congress pays for that war thereafter, but that's all the Constitution provides for.

If the Democrats want this war to end, then the operation needs to be de-funded. It's political suicide of course, but what's more important, putting an end to the most expensive American foreign policy boondoggle in history or covering your own ass? We're talking about Washington here so I think we can expect some world-class half-assery over the next couple of weeks after which legislation sporting some shiny new compromise language will emerge with both sides claiming victory and absolutely nothing changing for the troops in the field. Shit, they're not real people anyway.

I want this war to end. Hell, I wanted not to start. But over the past few weeks I've watched the Democrats formulate their strategy, and found it severely lacking. For years I've criticized this Administration's inability to be truthful with the American people while it played our emotions for its own political gain, now the Democrats are doing the same damn thing. There is no "immediate withdrawal." That kind of talk needs to stop. Now. The best we can hope for militarily is a phased redeployment to an area from which our forces can respond to the Middle East should a truly state-threatening crisis arise. Africa, I'm looking at you. Talk of benchmarks and surrender dates and all the rest is bullshit. There's no other word for it. Please stop. You're hurting America.

It's time for the Democrats in Congress to shut up and do their job: Oversight, oversight, oversight. If they don't like the job the President is doing, then bring the hammer down. Impeach the SOB and let it be over with.

Labels: Congress, George W. Bush, iraq