subpoena

What's the point of the Democratic Party? I know that technically its job is to get Democrats elected to office. But what of it?

What is the point if Democrats don't use the power that they gain in holding office?

What is the point if Democrats give their power away?

What is the point if Democrats let themselves get played for suckers over and over again in the most predictable ways.

Salon.com: Democratic leadership: not just complicit but also self-destructive

The signs are unmistakably clear that what was always inevitable -- full compliance by the House Democratic leadership with Bush's demands on warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty -- is now imminent. House leaders spent the week floating their specific proposals for how they intend to comply in full, and yesterday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes went on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, refused to criticize the President or the Senate FISA bill, and repeatedly and meekly expressed his willingness "this week" to give what he called full "blanket immunity" to telecoms (C&L has the video of Reyes' astoundingly weak and incoherent answers in response to Blitzer's Bush-mimicking questions).

What is the point of feigning that you object to a single party government when all you do is help an Executive who thinks he is King.

What is the point of taking the flak that comes from the right wing when you refuse to cave, the threats that Democrats are making us less safe every day they delay -- when you have no intention of keeping up the fight?

What is the point of that when you just give in?

Do they think Republicans won't attack them for stalling?  Now that they've caved entirely, they're admitting that Bush was right and that they were putting America at risk by not letting George W. 19% illegally spy on citizens.

Republicans WILL attack them.  That's what Republicans do.  They consolidate power and use it for the purpose of the party's ideology and to continue it's health. 

If Democrats merely help Republicans do what Republicans want to do, then what is the point of the Democrats?

Democrats don't enforce their oversight powers. Even when the opposition has admitted to committing crimes. 
Democrats instead grant even more power to the lawbreaking Executive. Indeed, doing the very opposite of oversight, they grant retroactive immunity to the criminals for the crimes they committed.

And at the end of the day the Democrats will be attacked for not having completely caved fast enough.

What is the point of the Democratic Party?

Last week Attorney General Mukasey told Democrats to stick their subpoenas up their asses. And the response is, "Here's some more power."  What is the point of the Democratic Party.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) got a contempt citation passed in his House Judiciary Committee for both Miers and Bolten in late July, because, as the photo reminds us, when they were subpoena'd for testimony related to the U.S. attorney firings, they told Congress to go Cheney itself. They both, plus Rove to the Senate Judiciary Committee, claimed that executive privilege protected them from even having to appear in person to invoke executive privilege - hence the empty chair pictured above.

Conyers' contempt citation means exactly dick until it is passed by the full House. And as House leader Nancy Pelosi crowed, the most important thing about Democratic takeover in Washington D.C. was "subpoena power."

So it's no surprise then that as soon as Congress returned from summer recess, Nancy "subpoena power" Pelosi made sure nothing happened. Then a vote was supposedly imminent in November -- Conyers even issued a final warning to the White House. But the vote didn't come (it got pushed to December because Congress was busy caving to Bush on Iraq and FISA). Then it was supposed to come shortly after the winter recess. But, Nancy "subpoena power" Pelosi strikes again:

Senior Democrats have decided that holding a controversial vote on the contempt citations, which have already been approved by the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, would “step on their message” of bipartisan unity in the midst of the stimulus package talks....

“Right now, we’re focused on working in a bipartisan fashion on [the] stimulus,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), indicating that the contempt vote is not expected for weeks, depending on how quickly the stimulus package moves....

“When we have the votes, we’ll go ahead with this. Right now, the votes are just not there,” said one top House Democratic insider, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Ow, the stupid, it hurts. Firstly, the bipartisan "unity" of the stimulus package is simply this; on a bipartisan basis, Congress is passing 100% of the tax cuts that Bush wants.

So it's for that utter capitulation that James Madison's required checks and balances moves to the back burner.

And when will we pick "it" back up? Why, when the votes are there, of course!
What votes? GOP votes.

When exactly will Republicans vote to send fellow Republicans to prison?
Any day now! All that's needed is some more of that sweet bipartisanship.

Jesus Fucking Christ in a Chicken Bucket counting on these Democrats is like being forced to shave off your nipples... Which is merely to say that it's awful and painful, it mostly makes you want to vomit, and just the thought of it is infuriating, confusing and insulting.

The way the Democratic Party's audacious "Politics of Capitulation" tends to works is a simple formula:

Sound the alarm. Talk tough. Capitulate.

1) They point out the crime, rallying their base against radical conservatism. 2) Then they demand apologies, demand compliance, demand resignations. 3) Finally, after conservatives, sometimes literally tell Democrats to fuck themselves, they give the conservatives what they want and STFU.

Keep in the back of your mind that it was Pat Leahy who Cheney told to go fuck himself at a ceremony in the Senate Chamber. Today, Leahy landed squarely on the audacious Phase Two. Talking tough.

Senator Rejects Bush Privilege Claim

This summer, Leahy sounded the alarm when he issued the subpoenas to Harriet Miers and Karl Rove about what involvement the White House had in the firing of United States Attorney Generals for partisan political reasons.

The administration told the Democrats to fuck themselves when it claimed executive privilege for all documents and testimony sought, and said that Rove didn't need to even show up for a hearing. Rove's aides Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings appeared, but refused to discuss the firings. A subpoena for documents was sent to Bolten, and the White House refused.

Today, Leahy ruled that the claims of executive privilege and immunity were not legally valid, a necessary step toward issuing contempt citations in his committee.

The president's lack of involvement in these firings — by his own account and that of many others — calls into question any claim of executive privilege.

As the Times put it so delicately, "It was not clear, however, that Leahy's ruling Thursday would amount to more than a threat before Congress adjourns next month for the holidays."

Indeed, it is not clear if this tough talk will go anywhere. It's nice to see certainly, it sure keeps the White House busy with things other than what it would normally tackle if left unimpeded - namely, the destruction of the world.

So I'll put Leahy in the "Lead" category for now, but if he ends up doing what he did last time President Cheney told him to fuck himself*, then he'll lose these kudos.

* He did nothing, of course.

[UPDATE - 12-10-2007]- Leahy sucks.
Yup. Coward. Moron. The Republicans asked him to compromise and he agreed... by not calling for the contempt vote. How is that a compromise? It looks to me like the Republicans didn't want to have to vote, and now they don't have to vote. What exactly did the GOP give up in this "compromise"? I'll tell you: nothing. What did the Dems give up? Everything. How is that a compromise? It's not. It's capitulation. Useless sacks of crap, these Democrats.

How did it happen? Specter said to Leahy: "the constitutional dispute would end up spurring a lengthy court battle that would likely be decided after President Bush’s term ends."

And instead of Leahy responding: "Yeah, no shit. Exactly. Nobody is allowed to break the law. Enforcing the law is our job, numbnuts."

Instead, he gave in.

Usually when this Conservative Administration does something illegal there is some huffing and puffing from Democrats, but no Houses are ever blown down.  Today, a story came out about another crime of Bush's and while I figured that this news would be met with awkward thumb twiddling by Democrats (akin to when a transcript of a Downing St. meeting from July, 2002 was leaked to The Sunday Times stating that Bush and Blair conspired to get an Iraq war no matter what, and that it effectively began a year before the March 2003 invasion)

Well, I was wrong: Chris Dodd is demanding our new "non political" Attorney General Mukasey investigate a White House cover up that goes right to Bush himself.  I'll tell you why this is important in a moment.  First, the outrage.

It started when I read this post over at Wonkette about former WH spokesman Scott McClellan's "my job as a liar" memoir and the oopsie bombshell he drops in the book.  Which specific lies, you ask?  There are so very many to choose from -- no, the big one Scottie describes in his book is the about the CIA leak case.  Where our Executive Branch jeopardized National Security...

“I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff and the president himself.”

Hey, whoa, what? Our bitter snitch explains that he trusted this president: "The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.” Cry me a fucking river, asshole. 

Wait, but what?  George Bush thought that lying about him breaking the law...  would get his credibility ...back? 

So George Bush made the decision to break laws and undermine the security of the nation in a time of war by exposing the identity of an operative working in South Asian nuclear non-proliferation - and by extension, he cut loose all of of the operative's associates and informants.  All to get his credibility ...back?

Holy retarded Texan shit.

And that's the thing.  If any of us hope to survive another year we have to keep this posse in the White House occupied.  This is a great way to do it.  Because if we leave them alone, they are going to take an ax to everything on their way out.  The next president will find a government wholly dismantled with key screws missing - safeguards removed, you name it... 

The big things will be the plants, conservative movement loyalists plugged into key offices, there will be moles, rules changed by executive order, holes opened up in the framework.  Dozens of executive orders destroying everything from our national parks, to regulatory agencies, to international treaties, to vital Departments in government like Justice, for God's sake. 

The mind boggles. The forces of destruction work much faster than the forces of creation.  It takes longer to build a city on a hill than it does for a Tsunami to wash it away.

The other thing is that we can't allow these criminals to shred every piece of paper in the place - an investigation with an subpoenas will save much of it.  We also can't let this conservative presidency get away with not being remembered as the most hated, criminal, and destructive band of crooks since, well, ever.  This will help. 

America needs to have daily reminders that if you put conservatives in government, they destroy everything.  Too often, Democrats complain that the country is being destroyed by conservative policy, but let it happen anyway.  

Guys, follow Dodd's lead: investigate everything.  Bush already made clear he is going to veto any legislation constructive in nature, he's hell bent on destruction...  so tie him to a chair under oath and grill him for the next 425 days.  Hell, waterboard him.