Has America Really Got An Opposition Party?

So at last it begins. Well at least let’s hope so. The Senate Judiciary Committee has subpoena-ed the White House; Dick Cheney’s office; and the Justice Department to obtain documents that would reveal the extent of the administration’s monitoring of communications between Americans and the outside world. The move follows what the committee’s chairman Patrick J Leahy described as “stonewalling of the worst kind” designed to disrupt the committee’s investigation of domestic telephone and email intercepts without warrants, an abuse of power excused as being essential to the fight against terrorism.

Americans need to know if the NSA wiretaps really were crucial to the war on terror or whether they were more widespread, aimed at opponents of the illegal Iraq War for example, or even more random, targeting anyone who spoke to anyone in a series of target countries? There is an irony in the fact that this furore is going on just as the CIA is releasing files on how it carried out a series of illegal wiretaps in the 1960s and 1970s against opponents of the war in Vietnam and other Americans deemed to be “a threat”.

At last Congress seems determined to find out what was really going on and if necessary hold the administration to account. Perhaps at last the pussyfooting has come to an end and we can have real hope that America will have an opposition party worthy of the name, an opposition that can rein in an administration which is likely to be at its most dangerous as it prepares to leave office over the next 18 months.

It isn’t just America that needs this, it is quite literally the entire world that needs it. Bush has declared that he is not prepared to leave office without having found a solution to the perceived threat from Iranian nuclear weapons, with the military option a real likelihood. It is vital that the Democrats use the power they acquired in the mid-term elections to rein in the administration before we get to that point. If these subpoenas are the first sign of that, then they are welcome. Let’s hope they are.

Comments

[Karen Tabaka]

Mick--
In answer to your question, seemingly,"No". The good news is that the grassroot Democrats are angry and restless. Here's a brief synopsis of how the court decided on the matter of the wiretaps:

ACLU: Wiretap Suit Is Not Over
By Spencer Ackerman - July 6, 2007, 1:07 PM
After the 6th District Court of Appeals dealt the ACLU a loss in its suit against the National Security Agency, Legal Director Stephen R. Shapiro indicated that the civil-liberties organization may seek to have the Supreme Court rule on the president's stated authority to issue wiretaps without a court order:

"We are deeply disappointed by today's decision that insulates the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance activities from judicial review and deprives Americans of any ability to challenge the illegal surveillance of their telephone calls and e-mails. As a result of today's decision, the Bush administration has been left free to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress adopted almost 30 years ago to prevent the executive branch from engaging in precisely this kind of unchecked surveillance.
"It is important to emphasize that the court today did not uphold the legality of the government's warrantless surveillance activity. Indeed, the only judge to discuss the merits clearly and unequivocally declared that the warrantless surveillance was unlawful.

"We are currently reviewing all of our legal options, including taking this challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime it is now more important than ever for Congress to engage in meaningful oversight."

ACLU: Wiretap Suit Is Not Over
By Spencer Ackerman - July 6, 2007, 1:07 PM
After the 6th District Court of Appeals dealt the ACLU a loss in its suit against the National Security Agency, Legal Director Stephen R. Shapiro indicated that the civil-liberties organization may seek to have the Supreme Court rule on the president's stated authority to issue wiretaps without a court order:

"We are deeply disappointed by today's decision that insulates the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance activities from judicial review and deprives Americans of any ability to challenge the illegal surveillance of their telephone calls and e-mails. As a result of today's decision, the Bush administration has been left free to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress adopted almost 30 years ago to prevent the executive branch from engaging in precisely this kind of unchecked surveillance.
"It is important to emphasize that the court today did not uphold the legality of the government's warrantless surveillance activity. Indeed, the only judge to discuss the merits clearly and unequivocally declared that the warrantless surveillance was unlawful.

"We are currently reviewing all of our legal options, including taking this challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime it is now more important than ever for Congress to engage in meaningful oversight."

I have little hope that the Supreme Court will find in the ACLU's favor in light of their recent decisions.

Mind you that the wiretap issue is only one of many eroding the civil liberties of Americans. I believe America is in trouble unless impeachment occurs giving legislators the opportunity to clean up the damage of six plus long years under this administraiton.

Thanks Karen. Sorry for the delay. I have been on holiday and noone has been watching the blog in my absence.

[Brien Comerford]

I"m an American and we are crazy for not trying to make Al Gore the President. He is the antithesis of Bush and much different than the Clintons. His endeavor to save the world via combating global warming can unite the world. America needs and environmental President that loves humanity but also cares deeply about the rest of the planet's species.

[Brien Comerford]

On August 4 I was at a bloggers event in Chicago that featured many of the Democrats running for President. Dennis Kucinich belies sterotypes. He is a full-blown pacifist, vegan, human rights activist, animal welfare advocate and purveyor of universal peace. He wants Bush and Cheney to be impeached. The only flaw is Kucinich would be very lax about combating violent crime and real terrorists. He's got no chance but he's very interesting.