Have you heard one senior Democrat in the House or Senate do in 2006 what they didn’t do in 2002?
actually, the other day in the LA Times, DiFi, of all people, tried to talk the chimp out of the clock tower.
Posted by benjoya at April 16, 2006 02:47 PMThanks for this piece, Steve. I wondered what Sam Gardiner was thinking about all of this. And I agree, it is definitely time for the Democrats to stand up to this administration on this matter.
And why does Bush think he can do this? Because he's gotten away with every other illegal usurping of power so far. Why not this too? After all, by his lights, he is the law incarnate.
Posted by Mary at April 16, 2006 03:15 PMStv, thnks gn fr th hd's p. sspct tht Rm nd Chny g wy bck wth th MK, prhps thrgh thr x-pppt, Sddm.
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Steve,
The place to begin looking, if Dems really wanted to head off a rush to war with Iran, would be US intelligence gathering in Iran.
Here's the Washington Whispers today:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/whispers/articles/060424/24whisplead.htm
"The main lesson that the Senate Intelligence Committee drew from the run-up to the Iraq war was that Washington needs intense scrutiny of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction. So with all the buzz about nukes in Iran, it would be safe to assume that the committee is deep into an inquiry, right? Well, not quite. Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, the committee chair, warns that "we have not made the progress on our oversight of Iran intelligence, which is critical." The panel has done only piecemeal scrutiny of the spy agencies' work on Iran. "There is no organized committee staff effort to look at Iran right now," says majority staff director Bill Duhnke. "It's all sort of on hold." Roberts blames it on Democrats who are "more focused on intelligence failures of the past." Committee staffers who would conduct the Iran inquiry are instead tied up with the long-awaited second phase of the panel's review of prewar intelligence on Iraq (which covers how the Bush administration used the intelligence). Democrats say Roberts is stalling on Phase 2. "If the committee has not conducted a review of Iran intelligence, it's not because of a lack of resources," says Wendy Morigi, spokeswoman for Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the committee's ranking Democrat. Roberts says he is pushing hard to complete the Iraq inquiry, which could take several more months. Then, the committee can focus more on Iran. Perhaps Tehran will be kind enough to wait for them."
Sure, finding out exactly what went on in the rush to war with Iraq id important - but it isn't as important as the new rush to war. The GOP have blindsided the Dem leadership by stalling on the Iraq review for so long and now it looks like the Dems are the ones stalling an Iran review. If they keep it up, they will be reviewing yet another historical set of lies instead of getting to the facts before the bombs begin dropping.
Regards, Cernig @ Newshog
Posted by Cernig at April 16, 2006 04:57 PMThen:
"Our nation is now poised to go to all-out war against Iraq. Iraq has not committed any act of aggression against the United States. Iraq was not responsible for 911. No credible evidence exists linking Iraq to Al Queda’s role in 911. Iraq was not responsible for the anthrax attack on our nation. The United Nations has yet to establish that Iraq has usable weapons of mass destruction. There is no intelligence that Iraq has the ability to strike at the United States. According to the CIA, Iraq has no intention to attack America, but will defend itself if attacked.
"Why then, is our nation prepared to send three hundred thousand of our young men and women into house to house combat in the streets of Baghdad and Basra? Why is our nation prepared to spend $200 billion or more of our hard-earned tax dollars for the destruction of Iraq? Why is our nation preparing to use the most powerful military machine in history to wage an assault against the people of Iraq, to destroy their houses and buildings, to wipe out their water and electric systems and to block their access to food and medical supplies?
"There is no answer which can separate itself from oil economics, profit requirements of arms trade, or distorted notions of empire-building. — Dennis Kucinich, January 5, 2003
Now: Congressman Dennis Kucinich Demands Answers From Administration About US Troops In Iran
Kucinich does have the courage of his convictions and he's on record before the fact.
Just a tad more charisma...
Posted by Michael Miller at April 16, 2006 05:22 PMHere is yet, one more, petition against Bu$hCo's actions. Although I agree that direct contact with the Senators and the Reps is a better way to go.
Signing on won't hurt though.
Posted by Anjha at April 16, 2006 05:23 PMGood piece, Steve. Except it doesn't take into consideration that perhaps the reason the Democrats aren't doing anything to stop it is because they approve of it.
Where are the Democrats? Eating lunch and playing golf with the CEO's of Energy concerns adn other Multinational Corporations. You know, the ones that benefit from this cross-borders, cross-cultures right-wing wet dream.
Honestly, I don't believe that most of America cares either. I see absolutely no evidence of outrage from anyone day-to-day.
Posted by Tampa Student at April 16, 2006 05:33 PMI live in Michigan and I emailed to Levin. I asked for his opinion on a war in Iran, that I think it'll turn out to be another debacle a la Iraq, and isn't congress supposed to have some say in whether the US goes to war or is Bush allowed to do whatever he wants. Come to think of it, I didn't even write "Dr. Senator Levin", just started in with my comment. Didn't even think of it.
Posted by Sharon at April 16, 2006 05:38 PMthe mek's major mission since the invasion of afghanistan and the resumption of opium poppy production[that the taliban had terminated] is to facilitate the opium traffic westward.
the surest way to determine if milops are currently ongoing in iraq is to try and follow SAS mobilizations. my guess is that ozzie, kiwi, canuck SAS units have been deployed along with their brit counterparts.
if they have been deployed, than you can be assured that the potus has ordered the deployment of seals, force recon, and other special units.
however, all of these forces may have been seconded to paraorgs such as blackwater, and whatever incarnation sandlines is in today.
the potus will use mercs in the initial stage of this invasion. it will give him the chance not to lie when he says no official,uniformed US troops are in iran.
the overture for chapter 2 in the bushit's great crusade is probably playing already - you can't hear it because the volume is still turned down - the curtain will be lifting soon.
more death and destruction as the war for the control of middle eastern hydrocarbons continues.
and prepare to become enserfed. these invasions were never intended to secure hydrocarbons for the people of the usa...they have been intended to secure hydrocarbon production for the controlling by the global aristocracy.
got your lemming costume ready?
Posted by albertchampion at April 16, 2006 05:51 PMTmp, y’r mr thn ‘stdnt.’ thnks
lbrt, n trgt. n thng, pls xpln xctly wht y mnt by,
‘ths nvsns wr nvr ntndd t scr hydrcrbns fr th ppl f th s...thy hv bn ntndd t scr hydrcrbn prdctn fr th cntrllng by th glbl rstcrcy.’
Dd y mn l s wpn f chc by th crprt dds?
That's about how I parse it, scout!
Posted by pessimist at April 16, 2006 07:18 PMOOps, I meant I didn't write "Dear" not "Dr."
Good God, it must have been all that chocolate cake I had after dinner. My mom brought a chocolate cake and my sister-in-law brought this stuff with cake, choco pudding, whipped cream, Heath bar.
Posted by Sharon at April 16, 2006 07:25 PMOne doesn't see any outrage from me because I'd go berserk if I let myself be angry all the time at the incredible felonies these freaks so regularly inflict upon us.
There is a lot of anger out there, mark my words, but plain folks have no way to channel it. Still, I am a little wary this year; it could get even uglier than the horror show now playing. There is no free ride to crummy employment, negative wage growth, bubble markets, losing a war, and the government run off the rails with a rampantly sick Emperor at the helm.
No, the bill is coming due for all this, and it will get ugly in a way that "outraged" will be well short of describing.
I was going to say that I am pissed off no Democrat has raised a huge stink about permanent bases in Iraq--along with that self-sustaining mega-installation they call and "embassy." That's a good political issue too, it's just been handed to them, but, well, never fucking mind.
I guess that post can run tomorrow. Different day, same...
Posted by paradox at April 16, 2006 07:25 PMWhy do you all think Hillary is raising a record setting amount for her "re-election" run?
The corporate types are hedging their bets that the constitutional structure will remain intact and the GOP will be punished with a loss of power. Hillary is their insurance that their preferred conditions for doing business won't change too much.
Personally, I hope that they're right about the constitutional structure surviving and that they're wrong about being able to controol things with Hillary.
It will take more than voing a party line to get things done. The netroots will have to unify behind a non-Hillary early. If not, whatever chance we have of bringing a decent America back will likely be gone for decades.
Posted by herbal tee at April 16, 2006 07:59 PMDems can't react in any meaningful way because the constitutional and political system that we have known, observed and followed all these years is now imploding and transforming into something new and mysterious; something more risky, vengeful, authoritarian and deadly than anything we have ever seen.
The old "rules" are gone, the old "opposing team" is gone, the old "umpires" are gone, and the old expectations about the spectating "people" are gone after the disaster of 2004. The Reactionary Right literally controls everything in the country except perhaps the editorial boards of a couple of fading newspapers.
As the whole thing starts to spin senselessly out of control and shatter into a million pieces, and transform into who knows what, I'm starting to feel a little sympathy for our hopeless Dems---they really were placed in an impossible position by the forces of "conservatism" resolutely financed by bottomless, implacable corporate capital.
I think their spectacular political failure given all the manifest disasters of Nero shows the utter transformation of the old "system"---the Dems did exactly what used to "work" to bring executive accountability, except it didn't work anymore.
Posted by euzoius at April 16, 2006 08:18 PMPlenty of people are angry, frustrated, heartbroken, you name it. Problem is, people have forgotten what it is we can do about these vast abuses of power. Or perhaps the abuse is so vast folks don't really see it. I'd suggest a visit to the King Center's website. Have a look at the six steps of nonviolent social change.
I know some folks who got themselves arrested for refusing to leave their (D) Senator's office until he started taking a leadership role in ending the war in Iraq. Next thing you know, the Senator issues his first statement on the subject in years. Now they are attending meetings in the Senator's office. Who's to say what leads to what but it seems to me that it's up to we the people to force (nonviolently) the change we want to see.
Well, there is HCON Res 398 (with senate concurring) from 2004 which is described as "expressing the concern of congress over Iran's development of the means to produce nuclear weapons."
Within the text of the resolution there is a line about using "all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons ..." which is perhaps vague enough (especially to the great minds at the helm of the US "diplomatic" efforts) to constitute a call to arms of sorts.
Posted by zhak at April 16, 2006 08:43 PMit is like this,
the assumption is that the citizens of the united states are investing their tax dollars to seize hydrocarbons. so that they will have inexpensive hydrocarbons into perpetuity.
boy do the bushits laugh at that bit of stupidity. laughing all the way to the bank. using the US citizen's tax dollars to remove hydrocarbon production. thereby raising the hydrocarbon prices. such fun, using US tax dollars to impoverish the US populace....who will never catch on.
this bushit regime is the first out-front globalist amerikan admin. globalist in the sense that they have no allegiance to the united states of america or its citizenry...their agenda has always been to steal as much as fast as they can, to rearrange the laws so as to become exculpated, and to arrange an aristocratic order based on moolah in the united states.
and the electorate still really doesn't get it.
too ignorant, i suppose.
Start the draft.
Posted by Assasin of the blog at April 16, 2006 08:57 PMWould a real Christain call Hillary Clinton a whore on Easter Sunday? God is watching you.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 16, 2006 09:37 PMHerbal Tee:
Yes, Corporate America is already investing in Hillary and they are hedging their bets. Within a year, Hillary will be even with McCain and Rudy in the polls, and after the Dems take back one house of Congress this November, you will see even more money heading her way.
Posted by Steve Soto at April 16, 2006 10:12 PMI would never have dreamed that those who have planned for years to take control of the world's valuable resources would use Bush to accomplish their goals. Somehow I expected a more sophisticated and intelligent conduit. Now I know that being evil was the only requirement.
Posted by Judith at April 17, 2006 04:44 AMWell said, Judith, I would add name recognition and being related to Pinnochio as two more requirements.
The neocons pull the strings as Bush keeps the lies coming. Thanks to modern advances in plastic surgery reduction, the size of his nose is maintained at normal chimp length.
yes, they will.
Posted by oppressmenot at April 17, 2006 06:49 AMHey, they should put out a news release on PR newswire. That will really get the attention of the Republicans.
Posted by Zappatero at April 17, 2006 07:09 AMSo, if you are an elected official who feels the need to challenge the imperial plans of Dubya, why would you be quiet?
Two words: Paul Wellstone.
Remember, when his plane went down his wife and daughter were on the plane with him. There's a message for you. You risk the lives of your loved ones, not just yourself.
Whose offices got the poison letters? Hmm... let me think. I believe it was Daschle and Leahy's offices. That's odd, isn't it?
Sounds far-fetched, but I bet it rings some bells if you are one of the elected officials with an impulse to oppose Cheney and Bush.
Posted by Mike at April 17, 2006 07:39 AMSo, if you are an elected official who feels the need to challenge the imperial plans of Dubya, why would you be quiet?
Two words: Paul Wellstone.
Remember, when his plane went down his wife and daughter were on the plane with him. There's a message for you. You risk the lives of your loved ones, not just yourself.
Whose offices got the poison letters? Hmm... let me think. I believe it was Daschle and Leahy's offices. That's odd, isn't it?
Sounds far-fetched, but I bet it rings some bells if you are one of the elected officials with an impulse to oppose Cheney and Bush.
Posted by Mike at April 17, 2006 07:39 AM
HOw true Mike, and let's not forget Valerie Plame, her husband and the entire network of Bruster Jennings that this adminstration saw fit to expose, at the risk of their very lives, in order to shut them up. This admin is a bunch of cowardly gangsters and murderers, always hiding in anonymity, in the shadows, lying, projecting onto others, while they threaten, intimidate, and murder so that they can have more, more, more of the good life, at the expense of the rest of us. They eat caviar, we get their left over garbage, as long as we don't complain too loudly. If we do, the run the risk of being wiretapped illegally, imprisoned without habeas corpus rights, tortured, and possibly quietly executed along with our family. We stand up as people and oppose this now, or we passively accept, and thereby aquiesce, giving tacit approval by our lack of action.
Join the heart of the resistance, Restore democracy to America, the land we love. Check out World Can't Wait.org for a good place to start, if you haven't yet.
Posted by oppressmenot at April 17, 2006 08:10 AMI HOPE THEY DON'T WIMP OUT.
HELL, MOST CONSERVATIVES LIKE GEORGE WILL ARE MAKING THE CASE AGAINST ATTACKING IRAN ANYWAY.
ALL THE DEMS HAVE TO DO IS QUOTE THEM AND SAY "I AGREE."
IS THAT SO DAMN HARD?
Posted by Bush Bites at April 17, 2006 09:43 AM
If Democrats think they can do another “ostrich” routine this time around and let Bush ignore Congress and bully his way into another catastrophe with Iran like he did with Iraq, and then shoot him in the ass they are sorely mistaken. There won't be any more free passes if Democrats fail to ask the tough questions now, and remind voters that this is Iraq all over again.
And that means you Hillary and Joe Biden. Sticking your head in the sand won't cut it, and it isn't leadership.
All well and good, but what actually do you propose to do?
Bush isn't asking this time. It's gonna be mushroom cloud, then "oops, lookie what I did!" Well, no sense crying over spilled blood!
Posted by iamcoyote at April 17, 2006 10:32 AM"Bush isn't asking this time. It's gonna be mushroom cloud, then "oops, lookie what I did!" Well, no sense crying over spilled blood!"
Iamcoyote, you got that one right. Who's going to stop him? Who is going punish him and hold him accountable? NO ONE!
Posted by Judith at April 17, 2006 11:44 AM