Article: Democratic Dementia

They will not officially take over until January, but power is already corrupting the newly elected democratic majority in Congress. Is there anyone left inside the Beltway who takes the oath of office seriously? While Nancy Pelosi and company spout their grand policy plans, they seem to be forgetting the promise that every member of Congress makes upon taking office, with one hand on the bible and the other held up to God: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation OR PURPOSE OF EVASION; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." Just wondering... If a president knowingly lies to Congress and the American people, convincing them that Constitutional standards for war must be ignored so he can launch an unnecessary, illegal war of aggression against a country that poses no threat to us whatsoever, is he not a domestic enemy of our Constitution? How about a president who insists that warrants are necessary for wiretaps, even while pursuing terrorists, "Because we value the Constitution" (his words), while an illegal warrantless wiretapping program that he authorized operates even as he speaks those words? Or a president who believes he can place himself above the law by simply issuing signing statements that spell out not just his political opinion of a law passed by Congress, but how he reserves the non-existent right to interpret and ignore the law as he sees fit? Or a president who believes he can label anyone he chooses (including any American citizen) an "unlawful enemy combatant", detain them indefinitely without charges and deny their constitutionally guaranteed right to challenge their detention? Where in God's name is our Congress while this pseudo-Christian president's self-serving policy continues to murder and maim our own troops, murder innocent Iraqis by the truckload and relegate our scared Constitution to toilet paper status? They're having power lunches with the Oval Office fraud and making nice-nice for the cameras while the "damn 'liberal' media" cowards toss up the softball questions and slither away, secure in the knowledge that their White House access is not in danger. This is the reality of today's America, and it is beyond unacceptable. It is criminal, and I am quite confident that my words echo those of tens of millions of other Americans when I say we want something done about it. NOW. Pelosi, who will almost certainly be the first female Speaker of the House in American history, says emphatically "impeachment is off the table". Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and long time Michigan congressman John Conyers, who is in line to be the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, echo this sentiment. The same John Conyers, by the way, who last year commissioned a 350-plus-page report that makes the case, in impeccable detail, for the impeachment of George W. Bush. The report is titled "George W. Bush Versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution Coverups in Iraq War and Illegal Spying". Call me crazy, but I'd say that title indicates that Conyers thinks this president should be impeached. Here, however, is what Conyers says now: "To be sure, I have substantial concerns about the way this administration has abused its authority, but impeachment would not be good for the American people. The country does not want or need any more paralyzed partisan government -- it wants a check and balance and real progress on the issues that matter to their lives." Thank you very much Mr. Conyers, but we are quite capable of deciding for ourselves what is good for us, as we proved to the world on Tuesday by voting your party back into control of Congress for the first time in twelve years. Well, at least we thought we were doing what was good. Apparently it was presumptuous of us to think that a new democratic majority in Congress would bring actual accountability for the most corrupt presidential administration in American history. Silly us. How can you possibly reconcile the voluminous documentation of Bush administration crimes in your report with your stated belief that these crimes should go unpunished? How can we possibly have legitimate checks and balances on the executive branch when you refuse to challenge a president who believes our Constitution is "just a goddamned piece of paper"? How can you possibly claim moral or political ground that is any higher than that of the Bush crime family thugs squatting in our White House if you refuse to do the job that the Constitution demands of you? The American people are not stupid, Mr. Conyers. We can tell the difference between blatantly vindictive witch hunts like the Clinton impeachment and the urgent need to remove the neocon criminals who have hijacked our country before they destroy it completely. The effort of Congress to fulfill its sacred responsibility to the people by adhering to our Constitution and the rule of law is not "paralyzed partisan government". Paralyzed partisan government is that which indeed recognizes that there are very serious problems, but refuses to do anything about them for fear of appearing politically incorrect. It's time to drop the politics and pick up the accountability, Mr. Conyers.