You could see the relief on Emanuel's face [
watch the video] - He grinned and quickly left. The only reasonable explanation for
his quick departure is that he was relieved to turn the podium over to
someone more interesting. [see image
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/16916
] Otherwise, if that weren't true, we'd have to believe he was one of
the most cowardly individuals ever to walk the earth. It's bad enough
for the Democratic leadership to be afraid to end the war or impeach
its architects. But to see them run and hide because a dozen people
chanted something off-topic is too much. Someone whose focus was on
using his power for good, not on keeping it for its own sake, would not
have fled that scene. Unless, of course, he wants us to handle the
press conferences from now on.
As a result of our assist, the
Dems produced today's Associated Press story, which begins
"Congressional Democrats stepped hungrily to the brink of power on
Wednesday, promising immediate action to limit the influence of
lobbyists and pledging to constantly prod the Bush administration to
bring U.S. troops home from Iraq." That's a much better story for them
politically as well as morally. So, now they owe us for more than just
the election. But as long as they limit themselves to prodding Bush,
we're going to have to consider other ways to assist them, including
occupying their offices beginning February 5th. Congress has the power
and the responsibility to cut off the money for the war and end it. No
amount of prodding of Bush will ever persuade him to end this war.
Prodding Bush is like trying to teach calculus to a pig – it just makes
you look goofy.
But the Democrats are afraid that if they cut off the money for the war
they'll be accused of not supporting the troops. Apparently sending
troops to kill and die and be injured in a war based on lies that is
making us all less safe and putting our grandchildren into debt amounts
to supporting them, whereas bringing them safely home does not. But
this nonsense can be dismissed quite easily if Congress passes a bill
providing funds to withdraw the troops and banning the use of funds to
extend the occupation. The cost to bring the troops home, by the way,
is less than the cost of two weeks of the occupation.
The Democrats could also announce what they plan to do with the
trillion dollars they save on the war: they could start by supporting
groups that are working to restore New Orleans, teachers who are
working to educate our children, and workers who can begin to rebuild
all of our cities, expand mass transit and produce renewable energy:
these are troops who deserve our support as well.
During the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year's Day, the television announcer
referred to a Marine Corps band as representing the people who are
"defending our freedoms around the world." But around the world, the
people of the world are protesting the expansion of our military
bases. They are clearly losing freedoms, but what freedoms are we
gaining? And why can't the freedoms we have left after the abuse of
this Administration be defended here where we live rather than around
the world?
When we use cluster bombs on Iraqi men, women, and children does it
help restore our right to habeas corpus? When we attack ambulances, do
we get back the right to form a union? When we melt the skin off
people with white phosphorous, do we recover the right not to be
illegally wiretapped or detained or tortured or murdered or sent off to
die for somebody's lie?
There's a great song that Bruce Springsteen, among others, has been singing recently that includes these words:
If you love this land of free, Bring ‘em home, Bring ‘em home.
Bring them back from overseas. Bring ‘em home, bring em home.
It’ll make the politicians sad I know, Bring ‘em home, Bring ‘em home….
And let's take care of them when they get here, Mr. President. That's
our plan. We're announcing it. You can fall into line. Or you can be
impeached and removed from office.
Here's another lead to another AP story, this one from yesterday:
"FBI agents documented more than two dozen incidents of possible
mistreatment at the Guantanamo Bay military base, including one
detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape for chanting the Quran and
another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering room."
This is your tax dollars at work. And what is Congress doing to stop
it? My Congress Member is obsessed with protesting another Congress
Member's plan to take his oath of office with his hand on a Quran
rather than a Bible. The bigot who supposedly represents me in
Congress represents a district that includes Thomas Jefferson's house.
The Muslim Member, meanwhile, intends to use Thomas Jefferson's copy of
the Quran.
All we need now is for a few Members of Congress to pick up copies of
the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution – the
document that says Congress makes the laws, which the President can
sign or veto, but not rewrite. Remember when Senator John McCain was
lobbying against legalizing torture, and Vice President Cheney was
lobbying for it? Remember that McCain won? He didn't. Bush signed
the bill and added a so-called signing statement indicating that he
might choose not to obey it [
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/01/04/bush_could_bypass_new_torture_ban/ ].
This is what we have now: a President who rewrites the laws, openly
disobeys the laws, and hides most of what he does behind a wall of
secrecy that would have embarrassed Nixon. And what happens when
Congress tries to peer inside? Requests, including those made under
the Freedom of Information Act, are rejected. Will subpoenas be
rejected too? And if they are, will Democrats run and hide from the
cameras, or will they stand and fight for our democracy?
Right now they are telling us that impeachment is off the table. They
are doing for Bush what Ford did for Nixon, pardoning a criminal
president. Bush has even outdone Ford and pardoned himself for some of
his crimes by signing the Military Commissions Act, which I've been
told is the only bill to which he has not added a signing statement.
We've been told so often in the past few days that pardoning criminals
is how you heal the nation. Bush is apparently healing us even while
he kicks us in the ribs. It's quite a feat. But we voted his party
out because we'd had enough. We've had more than enough. And we are
going to remove Bush and Cheney from office whether the Democrats like
it or not.
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