Shame

[spruceh0rn]

Only 5 years ago, I was still proud that I was an American. Proud of the United States -- what it was and had become in my memory. For the most part, we didn't fight pointless wars, never initiated military action without a good reason. Secular government, tolerance, and justice seemed to be better than ever and on the rise. We certainly didn't

Comments

[spruceh0rn]

I think it had less to do with living overseas than it had to do with the feeling that checks and balances favored overall reason. There are no checks and balances any more. The Republican congress only does things the president wants, the way the president wants to do it. Take this bill I mention above... A few Republicans, including McCain and Warner, objected to the president's bill, and drew up their own, which was endorsed by the Judicial Committee. But the presently avidly opposed that version, partly because it didn't give him unlimited, eternal, sole power, and maintained Habeus Corpus. So McCain et al. just went along with Bush's bill instead. McCain even voted against Specter's amendment to uphold Habeus Corpus (that amendment lost 51-48, with a few Republicans supporting it, including Specter but excluding McCain). Remember that Frist has said today and in the past that Congress should go along with everything the president says, be it Supreme Court nominations or bills legalizing torture. The Republican revolution of the '90s had the goal of polarizing and patisanizing the country, and it succeeded marvelously, particularly in Congress. Of course, with Republicans so blindly following the party line, the Democrats have been, effectively, forced into doing the same. Take Supreme Court confirmations: Bush's nominations were almost entirely along party lines. Almost all nominations prior to the Bush era were nearly unanimously confirmed.

This reminds me... If you ever want to talk about the Clinton impeachment, let me know. All I know is that Bush is far more worthy of impeachment and conviction than Clinton ever was. Just shows how much the Republicans care about the country itself.