From Glenn Greenwald:
If the Congress is unmoved by their constitutional responsibilities, then at least basic human dignity ought to compel them to object to the administration's contempt for the laws they pass. After all, the laws which the administration claims it can ignore and has been breaking are their laws. The Senate passed FISA by a vote of 95-1, and the McCain torture ban by a vote of 90-9, and it is those laws which the President is proclaiming he will simply ignore. And yet not only have they not objected, they have endorsed and even celebrated the President's claimed power to ignore the laws passed by Congress. And that failure, more than anything else, is what has brought us to the real constitutional crisis we face as a result of having a President who claims the power to operate outside of, and above, the law.
Like Glenn, I simply do not understand why Congress is so willing to let itself be ignored. All of these men and women have sought and held significant and powerful positions in the US Government, in some cases for decades. What explains this abject behavior? Have they all been collectively traumatized by 9/11, even five years on? Where is their self-interest in keeping their once-proud institution relevant? Where is their sense of duty to the country?
Where is their courage?
Posted by Linkmeister at June 9, 2006 11:27 AM | TrackBack