The New York Times editorial board has some advice for the Democrats.
The Democratic majority in Congress has a moral responsibility to address all these issues: fixing the profound flaws in the military tribunals act, restoring the rule of law over Mr. Bush’s rogue intelligence operations and restoring the balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch. So far, key Democrats, including Mr. Leahy and Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, chairman of a new subcommittee on human rights, have said these issues are high priorities for them.
We would lend such efforts our enthusiastic backing and hope Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin and other Democratic leaders are not swayed by the absurd notion circulating in Washington that the Democrats should now “look ahead” rather than use their new majority to right the dangerous wrongs of the last six years of Mr. Bush’s one-party rule.
This is a false choice. Dealing with these issues is not about the past. The administration’s assault on some of the nation’s founding principles continues unabated. If the Democrats were to shirk their responsibility to stop it, that would make them no better than the Republicans who formed and enabled these policies in the first place.
If you want to know whether the Democrats can be successful in a direct constitutional confrontation with the President, it’s informative to see that there is one very important cog in the mainstream media machine saying ‘We would lend such efforts our enthusiastic backing’.
That’s a start. The Washington Post is probably going to stick to their ‘absurd notion…that the Democrats should now “look ahead”’, but one out of two ain’t bad. Let’s get it started.
I’ll believe it when I see it!
The NY Times has no advice for anyone, let alone ‘identified Democrats’.
They could not explain Judith Miller to the rest of us (i.e. those who are not Right Wing Republicans). How the hell do you think they can justify anything to the rest of the sane United States of America? Really.
Hey, I hear you. But wow – if they mean this, this is really spot on:
Thanks, Booman, for giving us some hope. I hope the Dems will heed this advice, and I hope the Times isn’t going to stab them in the back if they do!
The international herald carried this piece yesterday. Or, at least, one exactly like it. lol
Democrats are no smarter than Republicans. The Republicans established the model of always running for power.
Neither Party will ever learn that it is in the doing that they build their futures. The Parties are busy telling us what to think.
It is very telling that the New York Times is so concerned about Democrat appeasement among the right-wing of the Democrats that the Times needs to write about it already instead of allowing the situation to work itself out. The Democrats are well on their way to selling out the people and the 2006 elections.
The Congress convened last Thursday. On Friday, the House passed two bills, both of which were promised.
“well on their way” – where do you get that?
I suggest that, before we throw the Dems down the well, that we actually let them work at stuff for a little bit, like a week.