How to take a stand for your country (GO FEINGOLD!) By G. Greenwald

[kpete]

Sunday, March 12, 2006
How to take a stand for your country

I really encourage everyone to listen to the full interview which Sen. Russ Feingold gave today with George Stephanopolous on ABC's This Week, in which Feingold announced that he was introducing a Resolution to censure George Bush for breaking the law with his warrantless eavesdropping program aimed at Americans. Crooks & Liars has the video of the full interview here. The full transcript of the interview is here.

As you listen to it, just imagine where this scandal would be if Democrats had simply come out from the beginning and taken a strong stand in defense of the rule of law and our constitutional principles, instead of listening to those worthless, fear-driven Beltway consultants who -- as Feingold pointed out -- counseled that Democrats should just allow Bush to break the law because it was too risky politically to oppose it.

All that was necessary from the beginning was to make three very simple and clear points, just as Feingold made them today:

more at:

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-to-take-stand-for-your-country.html

[ginnyinWI]

1. excellent response to an excellent appearance by Feingold

I was delighted to see him say what he said on This Week this morning.

[yy4me]

2. Already e-mailed Feingold, will do Kerry and Kennedy

in a minute, Now for the boys and girls in the House, do you suppose they can learn from example?

[Pachamama]

5. I'm going to email Boxer and Feinstein too....

As well as Leahy, Cantwell, Obama and others who say they are for protecting democracy...

[pstans]

3. Russ is great

Please visit www.russforpresident.com .

We are having a chat tonight at 9 pm eastern on the site. Come join other Russ supporters.

[bvar22]

4. "Censure" a copout.

If Bush* and the Republicans broke the law, and continue to break the law...FILE CRIMINAL CHARGES YOU WIMPS!!!!!

[stray cat]

8. or an individual could file civil charges and have as much effect.

[kpete]

6. Contact Feingold

http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html

[enough]

7. Good points by Greenwald.

one snip>

As Digby has astutely pointed out many times, it is nothing short of creepy how lowly politicians like Frist always refer to the President, who is our public servant, as our "Commander in Chief." The President is not the Commander in Chief of Americans; he is only the Commander in Chief of the armed forces (Art. II, Sec. 2: "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States"). Constantly referring to him as the Commander in Chief is to imply that we have the obligation to treat him the way that soldiers are required to treat their military commanders -- i.e., with unquestioning obedience. That is appropriate for a military dictatorship, but not for a constitutional republic.

Beyond that, Bill Frist is making a rancid and consummately undemocratic point -- that to criticize the President or to hold him to account for his illegal conduct is tantamount to treason, because it constitutes an "attack" on the Commander in Chief which impedes our war effort, a despicable equivalency which they have been peddling for years, ever since John Ashcroft in December, 2001 warned the Senate that questioning the Administration was the same as aiding our enemies:

snip>

But sometimes, the act of a single person of this nature can change things dramatically. Just as Bush followers thought that they had swept this scandal under the rug and covered it up by ensuring that there would be no investigation, Sen. Feingold goes on national television and urges that the President be censured for breaking the law. And he's on the Judiciary Committee as well, and this should make it that much more difficult for Specter to simply shut down the hearings without following through on his promise to find out if there are other warrantless eavesdropping programs besides the one we know about.

snip>